Doctor Who boss found out Russell T Davies was returning 36 hours before fans
Chris Chibnall said he "had a suspicion" about Davies' return.
The news that Russell T Davies is returning for a second stint as Doctor Who showrunner came as a massive shock when it was announced last year – and it turns out it wasn't only fans who were pleasantly surprised by the news.
In a recent interview with Doctor Who Magazine, outgoing showrunner Chris Chibnall revealed that he was only informed of the decision just 36 hours before it was made public, although he admitted he already had some suspicions.
"Piers [Wenger] and Charlotte [Moore] told me," he explained. "I had a suspicion, because Russell hadn’t texted me for a while. And he’s never been that quiet!"
Chibnall added that he'd been in regular touch with Davies since the announcement was made – and commented that it wasn't necessary to leave many handover notes given the returning writer's past time on the show.
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As for what direction the show will take in Davies' second spell as boss, Chibnall explained that "I know a little about what’s going to happen, but not very much.
"Really I don’t want to know, because I just want to go back to enjoying watching the show as a viewer," he added.
Davies famously spearheaded the return of Doctor Who in 2005 and helmed the series for four monumentally successful seasons before stepping aside in 2010, when he was replaced by Stephen Moffat.
His return was greeted very enthusiastically when it was announced in September 2021, and Whovians are now desperate to see what his new vision for the show will look like.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com in February after he topped 2021's TV 100 list, Davies revealed that "There are things coming up that are brand new ways of telling stories that have never been done before. So it just feels new, I wouldn't have gone back if it wasn't feeling new."
He added: "I'm sitting here now, 10 pages away from a climax thinking, 'God, I've never been in this territory before – this is strange and new and hopefully I'll learn something out of it."
You can read the full interview in the new edition of Doctor Who Magazine, on sale now.
Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
