A new animated spinoff of Doctor Who has been announced, but the pre-school series has a major challenge when deciding which Doctor should be included. Announced by the BBC on June 12, 2025, Doctor Who’s animated spinoff will be bringing the time-traveling Time Lord to a pre-school audience on CBeebies, and will run independently from the main, live-action series. However, it’s unclear exactly which version of the Doctor will headline the series, though a new theory suggests it could actually be all of them.
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Although nothing has been confirmed, and the animated series doesn’t even have a production company attached just yet, a new theory suggests that every previous incarnation of the Doctor could be included in the new spinoff series (via Reddit). Since the show will be aimed at a pre-school audience, the numbering of each iteration of the Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor being the Fifteenth – could be used to help young viewers learn how to count. This rotation would also maintain variety, mystery, and excitement for Doctor Who’s new audience.
The theory suggests the Doctor Who show could be like Mr Benn, a children’s TV series from the 1970s in which the protagonist leaves home every day and makes his way to a costume shop, where he changes clothes and then enters a world relating to his costume for various adventures. Doctor Who’s spinoff could shuffle the Doctors in this manner, though instead of clothing, the Doctor could change his face each episode. This would make each new adventure exciting for young viewers, especially since they, just like the main show’s adult audience, would develop a favorite Doctor.
After the live-action series just saw the departure of Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor, who was shockingly replaced with Billie Piper, an animated series aimed at a younger audience might be just what the long-running sci-fi franchise needs. While Gatwa’s departure came as a shock, Piper’s appearance – perhaps as the Doctor – means there are now at least 18 incarnations of the Doctor who could appear in the animated show. Of course, some may need to be drastically adjusted or not included, such as John Hurt’s War Doctor and William Hartnell’s First Doctor , who aren’t appropriate for a young audience.
The reveal of the Timeless Child at the end of Jodie Whittaker’s run as the Thirteenth Doctor means there are an unlimited number of possible Doctors who could appear in the animated series. Jo Martin could finally get some attention as the Fugitive Doctor, while the character’s previously-unseen history could also be explored in more detail, obviously aimed at a pre-school audience, and with little-to-no impact on the parent show. It’s currently unclear when the Doctor Who spinoff will release, but, with possibly every Doctor in the spotlight, it could be an incredibly fun adventure.
Doctor Who is streaming the latest seasons on Disney+.
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