In an interview with the Guardian, Russell T Davies, the former and future showrunner of Doctor Who, gave an update on his progress writing and casting the 60th anniversary special and future series.

“I’ve already written some of the episodes. The first will go out in November 2023 – that’s the 60th anniversary of the show.”

This arrests any speculation that Davies will create a Doctor Who series which will lead up to the 60th anniversary special. Future series of Doctor Who will come after the special.

When asked by the Guardian who will portray the fourteenth Doctor, Davies made this claim, which would preclude any informed visits to the bookmakers.

“We have genuinely not cast anyone yet. We’re just starting auditions.”

In an Oxford Union Q&A on October 28 Doctor Who Series 5-10 showrunner Steven Moffat expressed his surprise, excitement and some trepidation for his friend when he learned that Davies would reprise his role as Doctor Who showrunner.

“I had no idea Russell was going to do that. He told me the night before. He sent me an email and I read it. I was just coming home from a restaurant and I thought ‘Is that real? I’ll see if that email is still there in the morning and see it that’s real.’ And then I phoned him up and I said ‘Have you read The Writer’s Tale? Have you read it? Because I think you should!’ He said ‘Oh no, I want to do it again! I’m excited. I’m thrilled!’ And then he told me his plans and it’s so fantastic.”

The extraordinarily difficult and challenging role Davies had of showrunning Doctor Who is documented in the book The Writer’s Tale. When asked by the Guardian why he can’t keep away from it, Davies had this reply.

“Because I love it. It’s the first thing I watched on television.” He points to a cabinet. “In there is every single edition of Doctor Who Magazine.”

As Steven Moffat said at the Oxford Union Q&A, “He’s the single best writer in television drama and he wants to do Doctor Who again. Great news for Doctor Who!”