Russell T Davies Won’t Be Back For Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary, But Did Pitch A Doctor Who Graphic Novel

By David Wharton | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

With Doctor Who celebrating its 50th anniversary next year, fans are chasing rumors about what all the celebrations will entail. We’ve heard rumors of former Doctor actors returning, of long-lost companions putting in an appearances, even rumors that Matt Smith might regenerate, in spite of everyone involved in the production insisting he’s not leaving anytime soon. Well, now we can scratch one name off the guest list for sure: former showrunner Russell T Davies won’t be part of the hoopla.

Davies, as you might recall, was the guy responsible for kicking off the modern incarnation of Doctor Who, introducing the world to a new Doctor — Christopher Eccleston — and his companion, Rose Tyler, back in 2006. You’d think he would be a given to be involved in the anniversary in some fashion, but from the sound of things his exclusion is his own choice. In fact, he wants to be surprised along with the rest of us. During an interview with What’s on TV, Davies said, “I think I’d be like the ghost at the feast, what would I do – turn up and make the tea? I have asked current boss Steven Moffat not to tell me what they are planning.”

He doubled down on that statement in a separate interview with the Telegraph, explaining that he’s “just a happy viewer now.” He does mention one fact that will likely irritate fans of his run on the series, though:

This’ll teach me though — I did ask BBC Books if they fancied a graphic novel, and they went, ‘No’. I sat here thinking, I could write a graphic novel, I could even draw the graphic novel, that’d be brilliant… No. There we are then, I tried.

It’s impossible to tell from text what Davies’ mood and inflections were like during that statement, so it’s anybody’s guess if he was at all bitter about getting his graphic novel idea shut down or if he was simply being matter-of-fact about it.

In the meantime, fans of Davies in the UK will be able to check out his latest show, Wizards vs. Aliens, when it premieres October 29th and 30th on CBBC.

From Russell T Davies’ Wizards vs. Aliens