Russell T Davies Returning to ‘Doctor Who’ For Season 14

Russell T Davies, who served as Doctor Who’s showrunner during Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant’s turns as the Time Lord, will return to the BBC show for its 60th anniversary. The announcement follows the recent news that Chris Chibnall would be stepping down from his showrunner role as Jodie Whittaker departed the series after Season 13 finished filming.

From Doctor Who’s initial reboot in 2005 through the end of Season 4, Davies ran the sci-fi series. That’s when Matt Smith took over from David Tennant as the Doctor. His time working on the show is considered to be one of the series’ strongest points, and Davies is credited with propelling Doctor Who to its status as a global phenomenon. Now, he will helm the show once again for Season 14 in 2023.

“It’s monumentally exciting and fitting that Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary will see one of Britain’s screenwriting diamonds return home,” said Chibnall in a statement to BBC. “Russell built the baton that is about to be handed back to him - Doctor Who, the BBC, the screen industry in Wales, and let’s be honest everyone in the whole world, have so many reasons to be Very Excited Indeed about what lies ahead.”

But before Davies gets back to work, we still have Season 13 — Whittaker’s final outing as the Doctor — to look forward to. “I’m beyond excited to be back on my favourite show. But we’re time-travelling too fast, there’s a whole series of Jodie Whittaker’s brilliant Doctor for me to enjoy, with my friend and hero Chris Chibnall at the helm – I’m still a viewer for now.” The BBC has yet to announce a release date for Season 13.

With Davies returning to Doctor Who, there could be opportunities for fan-favorite characters to make comeback appearances after over a decade. And who will Davies tap to play the Fourteenth Doctor? Only time will tell.