Doctor Who fans call for BBC to make archive available on iPlayer

Taking to Twitter, RadioTimes.com asked fans whether the BBC should put all episodes of classic Doctor Who on iPlayer, with a whopping 92 per cent of viewers stating that they want the decision to go ahead.

Out of nearly 500 votes, only a small sliver of fans (8 per cent) answered that they wouldn't, with no reasoning being given.

One Twitter user stated: "I think it's mad one of their flagship shows can't be watched on their own service," while another outlined: "By having all of #ClassicWho on #iPlayer, alongside #NewWho and the spin-offs, it means you have the #Whoniverse in one place in the UK."

If you're a Doctor Who fan, you'll know the heartache at not having any of the older episodes to enjoy. While all episodes from the modern era of 2005 onwards is available to stream on iPlayer, no episodes from the First Doctor era through to the TV movie featuring the Eighth Doctor are currently available on the platform.

But with Russell T Davies returning as showrunner, that could all change. When speaking to The Times about new ITV series Nolly with Mark Gatiss, Davies was asked what he wants to do with Doctor Who now that he's back.

Davies said: "You make all of the back catalogue available, first, on iPlayer. I can’t swear that will happen, but there are contracts. It’s our heritage, it deserves to be there so kids can fall in love with Doctor Who like they love Friends."

While fans can watch older episodes of Doctor Who on BritBox, Davies does sound certain that he'd hope to move them all onto iPlayer for free.

From the sounds of it, we've got a lot to look forward to with Davies back at the helm of Doctor Who, with the showrunner also explaining the bigger budget they have to work with for the upcoming 14th season. This is in large part due to the involvement of Bad Wolf Studios as a co-producer and Disney Plus as an international broadcast partner.

Speaking about the bigger scale of the future series, Davies said: "It's one of the reasons I've come back – you can tell stories on a bigger scale. It's the same old problems, I still have to cut scenes because they're too expensive, and I still have to reduce the number of monsters, and things like that. But my imagination feels more free, a lot more free, actually. It's just a joy to write anyway.

"I'm really proud of it. Oh my god, there are some strong episodes coming up."

Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer with episodes of the classic series also available on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here.

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