Steven Moffat attempts to swerve question of Doctor Who return
The former Doctor Who showrunner mysteriously addressed his return to the series on Newsnight.
As the months fly by and Doctor Who fans are ever closer to the slate of special 60th anniversary episodes, there has never been more burning questions for the long-running sci-fi series.
One of the main ones as of late has been whether Steven Moffat will step back in behind-the-scenes, after clues and chatter hinted that the former showrunner could well make a return to Doctor Who.
But it seems as though Moffat is pointedly refusing to play into the fanfare around the possibility, avoiding the question on last night's (Monday 25th September) Newsnight.
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Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark wasted no time in questioning Moffat about the series, asking him if he'd ever go back "in some shape or form to Doctor Who".
"What? I'll wake up tomorrow in Cardiff?" Moffat quizzed, before laughing and stating, "I can't believe I'm being asked that on Newsnight."
He continued: "It's really very recent that I quit Doctor Who... Look, I love, I absolutely adore Doctor Who, it's the most wonderful show. But it's in very safe hands with Russell [T Davies]."
Wark interrupted Moffat to claim that he's not answering her question, repeating whether he'd return "in some form". Moffat responded: "Am I a politician? Do I have to answer your questions?"
Wark rephrased the question, instead asking whether Moffat feels "the pull" of the series, to which he answered: "Oh, yeah, well I always stay in touch with Russell and ask him what he's up to and so on, of course I do.
"That doesn't mean I'm dashing off to Cardiff on the train tomorrow – unless I am..."
The open-ended final answer has left fans curious as to whether Moffat is simply playing into the rumours or could actually be part of the upcoming Doctor Who productions.
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As recently as this past August, fans were left questioning whether Moffat was involved in Ncuti Gatwa's first season after production notes were published in Doctor Who Magazine.
By a case of elimination, fans quickly realised that the writer who was described as being "currently on the other side of the planet" could very well be Moffat, after his Instagram posts revealed he was holidaying aboard a yacht in a mysterious location.
Although Davies is returning as showrunner for the anticipated new season, Moffat's future on the show remains a mystery, with him previously exclusively telling RadioTimes.com: "It would be career madness, even by my standards, to go back in a junior capacity to a show I used to run," he said. "I’d have to be insane to do that..."
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Authors
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
