After a six-season run, Steven Moffat will be stepping down as lead writer and executive producer of the BBC’s Doctor Who. After coming onto the program in 2010, he was responsible for the introduction of the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors in Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi. He also designed their companions in Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman), in addition to introducing now iconic monsters such as the Weeping Angels. His final season will air on BBC America and BBC One in the spring of 2017, with a Christmas special in 2016.
“Feels odd to be talking about leaving when I’m just starting work on the scripts for season 10, but the fact is my timey-wimey is running out,” said Moffat in a BBC press release. “While Chris is doing his last run of Broadchurch, I’ll be finishing up on the best job in the universe and keeping the TARDIS warm for him. It took a lot of gin and tonic to talk him into this, but I am beyond delighted that one of the true stars of British Television drama will be taking the Time Lord even further into the future. At the start of season 11, Chris Chibnall will become the new showrunner of Doctor Who. And I will be thrown in a skip.”
Chibnall, as Moffat mentions, created the BAFTA-winning series Broadchurch, and has also worked on everything from Law & Order: UK to Torchwood. His first season won’t arrive until 2018.
“Doctor Who is the ultimate BBC program: bold, unique, vastly entertaining, and adored all around the world,” Chibnall said. “So it’s a privilege and a joy to be the next curator of this funny, scary and emotional family drama. I’ve loved Doctor Who since I was 4 years old, and I’m relishing the thought of working with the exceptional team at BBC Wales to create new characters, creatures and worlds for the Doctor to explore. Steven’s achieved the impossible by continually expanding Doctor Who’s creative ambition, while growing its global popularity. He’s been a dazzling and daring showrunner, and hearing his plans and stories for 2017, it’s clear he’ll be going out with a bang. Just to make my life difficult.”
Read our huge interview with Moffat from a few months back as he reflects on his time on the show.