The show is making one of the most high-pressure returns in its history, but with the many bold changes, including a new Sunday-night slot and a reduction of episodes, the early signs are good for a successful reincarnation

When Doctor Who begins its new series on Sunday, it will probably be the most high-profile and high-pressure return in its history, or certainly since the show’s reboot in 2005. And not just because the Doctor is a woman. In 2018, the expectations of the universe on the Doctor and her friends weigh heavier than ever – even with Macklemore’s professions about feeling “glorious” all over the trailer. She does indeed have the chance to start again. The show very likely needs it.

Call it the 12-year itch, but the show has been finding itself analysed through a curious lens in recent years. Steven Moffat’s approach to Doctor Who had unexpected consequences. He turned the show into the global dreadnaught of a franchise it has become – at last count, the global audience was 70 million. It is without question the biggest money-spinner for BBC Worldwide when merchandise and syndication is factored in.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Yaz (Mandip Gill), Ryan (Tosin Cole) and Graham (Bradley Walsh) in Doctor Who, series 11. Photograph: Coco Van Opens/BBC

Despite this, Moffat came in for an uncanny amount of criticism. Ridiculous to my mind was the claim that he “couldn’t write women” (from Amy Pond to Missy to River Song, there were plenty of strong female characters during Moffat’s reign), but a more plausible malaise for a lot of viewers was how much attention needed to be paid to episodes. Moffat’s mistake, if it could be called a mistake, was to start making Doctor Who for Doctor Who fans. Casual viewers such as, say, my mum couldn’t always follow the show’s backstory-heavy plots. So they didn’t always tune in. Series nine opener The Magician’s Apprentice attracted an overnight audience of just 4.6 million viewers (and 6.5 million consolidated) in 2015, the lowest series opener since the show’s return in 2005. We are not supposed to talk about overnight ratings any more, but given the headlines around Bodyguard’s impressive figures last month, it’s clear they remain an important measure of success.

Recognising this, the new boss Chris Chibnall, who made his name on the ITV thriller Broadchurch, has promised less of a story-arc in favour of a series of standalone adventures – the official line is that this will be the perfect joining-on point for new viewers. Whittaker has proven she has the chutzpah to handle the challenge ahead of her through her many (many) promo spots recently, showing an effervescence worthy of the Doctor on Graham Norton, BBC Breakfast and This Morning this last week alone. All the signs show that she should make headlines well beyond her gender.

Doctor Who first look: Jodie Whittaker fizzes with energy as female Time Lord Read more

Yet the biggest innovation of the Whittaker-era of Doctor Who could be its new Sunday-night slot. Doctor Who has always gone out on a Saturday, aside from that period in the late 80s when the BBC was trying to kill it by scheduling it opposite Corrie. Saturday has felt like the natural home for Who, and leaping around the calendar is not without its problems. Put it out in spring and by the time you are getting to your series crescendo, everyone is out having barbecues and not watching television. Put it out in autumn and you have got to be slotted around Strictly and opposite X Factor. Like the best ideas that nobody had thought of before, Sunday makes sense. As Chibnall says, you can get everyone’s homework finished, sort out the packed lunches and settle down. It’s an ideal slot for a family drama.

There are other bold changes, too: a team of writers brand new to the show (including, the long-overdue arrival of Doctor Who’s first ever writers of colour); a new composer in the form of Segun Akinola; and various updatings of personnel behind the scenes. Also significant is the reduction of episodes to 10 (albeit each with an increased running time of 50 minutes). It feels like a tacit acknowledgement that the previous orders of 12 and 13 were maybe a bit too much. We’re getting less Doctor Who, but if that means we’re not getting duds such as Fear Her or The Curse of the Black Spot, then who’s complaining?

Between them, Whittaker and Chibnall are faced with the challenge of securing Doctor Who’s future. This Sunday’s gritty, sprightly opener, The Woman Who Fell To Earth, suggests they are heading in the right direction, but it remains to be seen as to whether they reach their destination.

The modern-era Doctors, rated

Christopher Eccleston (2005)

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Christopher Eccleston: unhappy behind-the-scenes. Photograph: BBC

Eccleston boldly reshaped the role when he gambled on joining Russell T Davies’s revival, ditching the received pronunciation of predecessors to avoid sounding “posh”. His performance was at times intense, and the contrast with his off-screen personality made the moments of comedy delightfully awkward – or a “goofy, otherworldly buffoon”, as reviewer Stephen Brook said after his debut. The show was an instant success for the BBC, averaging 8 million viewers, but Eccleston was unhappy behind-the-scenes and left after one series.

David Tennant (2005-2010)

Facebook Twitter Pinterest David Tennant: fun, approachable and at times very silly. Photograph: BBC/Adrian Rogers/BBC

A childhood fan of the show, Tennant’s five years in the role saw it peak in terms of ratings, and cemented Doctor Who as a BBC mainstay of Saturday evenings and Christmas Day. His portrayal has continued to define public perception of the character in the modern Who era – fun, approachable and at times very silly, with the ability to switch modes to the deadly serious in an instant. More than 12 million people watched Tennant depart the show on New Year’s Day in 2010.

Matt Smith (2010-2013)

The youngest actor to be cast in the role, Smith arrived with the new showrunner Steven Moffat, and ushered in an era with complicated storylines relying on twists in time travel, with a mysterious wife who experienced their adventures together in the opposite order to him. His debut saw us introduced to the character through the eyes of a child, and the Guardian said he carried off “the youthful vigour of a new body and the ancient professorial wisdom with easy panache”. The series continued to average around 8 million viewers an episode on his watch.

John Hurt (2013)

Facebook Twitter Pinterest John Hurt: a “proper” Doctor. Photograph: Adrian Rogers/BBC

Worldwide, 77 million viewers watched Hurt appearing as a previously unseen earlier version of the Doctor in 2013’s 50th-anniversary special. He portrayed a universe-weary Time Lord, tired of battling both Daleks and the worst instincts of his own kind. “Am I having a mid-life crisis?” he said, upon encountering his contrasting later selves played by Tennant and Smith. Despite only appearing in one TV episode, before his death Hurt recording a further four series of audio adventures in the role, and is generally accepted by fans as a “proper” Doctor.

Peter Capaldi (2013-2017)

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Peter Capaldi: ‘instantly owns the role’. Photograph: Simon Ridgway/BBC

“He instantly owns the role with the boldness you would expect from an actor of his stature,” was the Guardian verdict on Capaldi’s debut, but his attempts to recapture the grumpiness of earlier Doctors coincided with a slump in ratings – down to an average of 5.6 million in his final season. A time slot constantly being shifted around by Strictly cannot have helped. His time in the role produced some extraordinary episodes though, notably, “Heaven Sent”, which saw, for the only time in the show’s 55-year history, an actor carry a whole episode single-handedly, with no other speaking parts. And his final speech in the role was a template for the character: “Never be cruel, never be cowardly. Laugh hard. Run fast. Be kind.” Martin Belam









