Steven Moffat: 'I was vilified endlessly as Doctor Who showrunner'

While his tenure on the show is generally fondly remembered, there was some criticism of it at the time, and still today, over certain creative decisions that he made.

During an appearance at Toronto International Film Festival (via The Hollywood Reporter) he characterised the backlash as extreme, saying: "The level of hate you get could down three passenger jets. I mean, seriously, it doesn’t stop."

Moffat continued: "I was vilified endlessly. I was a 'homophobe', 'misandrist' and a 'misanthrope' and a 'sexist' and 'misogynist' and a 'racist'. I was against so many people I could only be described as an omni-bigot, which I would suggest means I’m treating everybody equally."

Moffat suggested that the experience was the closest that he came to being 'cancelled', which is the subject of his recent ITV drama Douglas is Cancelled, but added that any Doctor Who showrunner is regarded as "chief Satan of the nation" at some point.

A particularly enduring strain of criticism for the screenwriter has been depiction of female characters – in Doctor Who and Sherlock – but Moffat has repeatedly hit back at his detractors on those grounds.

"I’m continually told I can’t write [women]. Well, for someone who can’t write them, I’ve done it very successfully a lot of times," he told The Times over the summer.

"And I never get an answer to that. Or the answer is, 'Well, I don’t like those characters'. And I go, 'OK. Well that’s not really the point you’re making'."

Moffat returned to Doctor Who after a long absence for season 14's Boom and has also penned the upcoming Christmas special Joy to the World, in which he'll debut a new character played by Nicola Coughlan (of Bridgerton and Derry Girls fame).

Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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