At the Gallifrey One convention in Los Angeles on 6-8 February 2026, screenwriter Pete McTighe addressed speculative questions regarding the future of Doctor Who and his possible role going forward. I will exclusively chronicle several panels I attended featuring the writer.
In a 6 February feature interview with Big Finish and Doctor Who Magazine writer Rossa McPhillips, McTighe was asked if he’s be interested in showrunning Doctor Who.
“A lot of people have said, and you can confirm or deny this if you want, a lot of people have said that You’re very much the logical choice, if Russell T Davies were to leave, that you would be the next person that would be suited to be the showrunner,” McPhillips began with knowing chuckles from the audience. “You probably can’t say things but is there… do you have a view on that?”
“It’s not for me to say,” McTighe explained diplomatically. “It’s not my decision. I will give you my party line, which is that position is not vacant. Russell is the showrunner and he’s a friend of mine and whenever he calls, I will come running but he’s the showrunner and I’m fine with that.”
This being neither a “Yes” nor a “No”, it’s clear that, among his penning the Season Two episode Lucky Day and the spin-off The War Between the Land and the Sea, Doctor Who holds a marked appeal for McTighe.
“The only show that I will write for… By the time Doctor Who came around in Lucky Day — at the stage where I am, I had been creating my own shows for a while, and I kind of want to do that. So I’m not really a writer for hire any more. I don’t go in to do other shows. Not because I wouldn’t because I’m too snobbish for it but purely because there’s a limited amount of time I have and I need to concentrate on my own shows. But one exception to that rule is Doctor Who. When Russell said ‘I want you back’, I was like, ‘Yes. Absolutely. I’ll be there.’ So, yeah, Doctor Who is the only exception.”
“I still, to this day, get a thrill from stepping on the TARDIS set. And I was on the TARDIS set five or six weeks ago just because I was in the studio [Wolf Studios Wales] and I was like ‘I’m going to pop in and see the TARDIS.’ And I still get that fanboy kind of fix.”
When McPhillips asked what is next for the writer, McTighe was circumspect.
“So, er, lots of things I can’t talk about,” McTighe answered to engaged laughter from the audience. “It’s funny because I’ve been doing Doctor Who for so long that I kind of have a bank of ideas so, parking Doctor Who for a minute, there six or seven big scripts that I’ve got.”
A panel on The War Between the Land and the Sea took place on 8 February with Pete McTighe, Alexander Devrient (Colonel Ibrahim) and moderator Steven Warren Hill, host of the Chicago TARDIS convention.
“I’m just going to manifest this out there. Pete, when are the next showrunner,” an audience member asked hopefully. “Can you please bring back Alexander as a villain?”
“That’s a really cool idea,” Pete McTighe answered. “Never say never. And I’m not the showrunner so…”
As a follow-up to this exchange, Hill asked: “Can you contemplate about Doctor Who’s future for a moment?”
“Uh, no,” McTighe demurred.
For an idea of what a series of Doctor Who helmed by Pete McTighe might include, the writer expressed an interest in a return to classic Doctor Who plot staples at the Doctor Who Writers Roundtable discussion at the con on 8 February.
“I think Doctor Who works best as a cliffhanger serial and those should be back in force.”
A 2026 Doctor Who Christmas special, produced by Bad Wolf and penned by showrunner Russell T. Davies, is expected to go into production in some time in 2026.