After stepping down as Doctor Who‘s showrunner back in 2010, Russell T. Davies is returning to oversee the beloved British television series once again in 2023. It was Davies who revived Doctor Who back in 2005, after the popular television series about a time-traveler from the planet Gallifrey had been on indefinite hiatus since 1989. Russell originally left Doctor Who in 2010 after four seasons with two Doctors and multiple specials.
Reviving Doctor Who could’ve been a massive failure. The show had been off the air for 16 years. The fact that Russell managed to successfully revive Doctor Who
and prevent it from being canceled yet again was an impressive feat. So why did Russell originally leave Doctor Who back in 2010?Back in 2009, David Tennant had been playing the fan-favorite 10th Doctor for three seasons of Doctor Who. Russell had succeeded in bringing back the story of a centuries-old Time Lord and his travels to life. The show was not in danger of being canceled. In 2008, Russell announced that he would be leaving the show as showrunner after only four seasons.
Russell’s departure was without any dramatic backstory. In true Doctor Who fashion, Russell had simply concluded that the time had arrived to pass the showrunner’s torch to someone else. Russell appointed Steven Moffat, a Scottish writer as his successor. Steven had written several popular Doctor Who episodes during Russell’s tenure as showrunner, including “Blink,” and the two-parter “Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead.”
David followed suit and decided to leave along with Russell. The actor told BBC One in 2008 that Russell’s decision to step down influenced his choice to end his tenure as the 10th Doctor.
“I’d always thought the time to leave would be in conjunction with Russell T. Davies and [former Doctor Who executive producer] Julie Gardner, who have been such a huge part of it all for me. Steven Moffat is the most brilliant and exciting writer, the only possible successor to Russell, and it was sorely tempting to be part of his amazing new plans for the show.”
Russell’s time on the show, or the “RTD era” as fans like to call it, wasn’t popular with everyone. There were certain episodes that were lambasted for poor execution, such as the Season 2 episode, “Love and Monsters,” that Russell himself wrote. However, it’s to be expected that a long-running series like Doctor Who
would have certain episodes that are generally disliked by viewers.Russell cast Christopher Eccleston, the ninth Doctor, to kick off the series. Tennant was the 10th iteration. Russell also created strong female characters to balance out Doctor Who, such as Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), Martha Jones(Freema Agyeman), Donna Noble (Catherine Tate). Russell also created two Doctor Who spin-off series: Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.
