In his regular newsletter Patelogram, the writer of the Doctor Who episodes Demons of the Punjab and Fugitive of the Judoon, Vinay Patel announced his intentions to take a step back from writing for other shows and to begin writing his own science fiction show.

“At the end of my work on [Doctor] Who this time around I felt more certain than ever that I do now need to strike out, focus more fully on my own TV ideas and step up to being the boss (as much as you can be in telly, anyway). Nevertheless, I’ve learned a great deal from both of the seasons I’ve been on the show and if I ever do return one day I hope I get to do a proper big sci-fi story.”

Patel didn’t give any specifics about his own science fiction show but he is enthused to begin work on it.

“I feel this all the more now that I’m progressing more deeply and with greater confidence into my original sci-fi show. To be honest, I’m feeling really pumped about it! Yesterday I went into a notes meeting feeling excited and came away more so. Rare. This morning I woke up with a head full of ideas, all of a decent quality. Even rarer. In fact, this almost never happens so cherish those moments when you get them. But it’s a sign that I’m in a good part of the process. Stuff is clicking to the point that the ideas are starting to self-generate, which means you’ve got something right in the alchemy.

So yeah! I think this could and should be something really decent. Entertaining, tonally rich and speaks to all of the things I care about. What more could you ask from for your work?”

Patel also spoke of his latest Doctor Who episode Fugitive of the Judoon.

“The process for this episode was completely different than with my first, as is the episode itself. There are jokes in this one for a start (even if many of my favs ended up getting cut…oh the eternal dance of writing for strict time slots). It was also co-written with Chris [Chibnall], the show runner, which was a fascinating experience since I’ve never actually written with someone else before. Directed by Nida Manzoor – an old friend and genuine superstar. Keep an eye on her, she’s brilliant and it was fun being able to write what I could to suit what I knew to be her strengths and interests.”

We look forward to Vinay Patel’s future science fiction television project. We’ll let you know when we hear further news about it.