A popular Doctor Who writer confirms he won't be back for the new series
Flatline and Oxygen screenwriter Jamie Mathieson has revealed that while he pitched a few ideas to Chris Chibnall, he won’t be back for series 11
One of the most closely-guarded secrets around the upcoming series of Doctor Who is exactly who’ll be writing it, with the BBC remaining tight-lipped about which screenwriters have been brought on board to pen Jodie Whittaker’s first adventures.
New showrunner Chris Chibnall will write a few episodes, of course, but apart from that detail – and the fact that at one point he was considering a US-style writers’ room for the series, an idea that seems to have now been scrapped – we don’t know anything about who else is in the frame.
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Though actually, that’s not strictly true. We have started to get a list of writers from the series’ past who WON’T be writing this year, with the likes of Sarah Dollard (Face the Raven, Thin Ice) and Mark Gatiss (The Crimson Horror, The Idiot’s Lantern, Cold War and many more) already ruling themselves out from the new series.
And now joining them in their absence is fan-favourite scribe Jamie Mathieson, who has written at least one episode for every series of Peter Capaldi’s tenure including hits like Flatline and Oxygen, and revealed over the weekend that despite pitching Chibnall some ideas he didn’t get the gig this time around.
“To pre-empt me no doubt blabbing it over the weekend at [fan convention Gallifrey One], I am not writing for the next series of Doctor Who,” Mathieson wrote on his personal Twitter account.
“Did meet with Mr Chibnall, lovely man, pitched a few ideas but it didn't pan out. Got flavour of what he has planned - Who is in good hands.”
Mathieson added: “And the poor man made the mistake of giving me his email address. So I will continue to bombard him with episode ideas until he gives in and gives me a gig next series...”
Fingers crossed Mathieson will get his chance to write for the Thirteenth Doctor one day – but for now, the mystery of who actually WILL write for the new series of Doctor Who continues.
Doctor Who returns to BBC1 this autumn
