Doctor Who Showrunner Confirms Major Villains Won't Appear for a While

Russell T Davies is returning to Doctor Who, and he's bringing some familiar faces with him in stars David Tennant and Catherine Tate. However, it'll be a while before some iconic Doctor Who villains return. Davies's second tenure as Doctor Who's showrunner begins with the three 60th-anniversary Doctor Who specials airing in November and December and continues with the Doctor Who Holiday Special airing on Christmas Day. It only took Davies six episodes in his original Doctor Who run, which relaunched the series for modern audiences, to reintroduce the Daleks, one of the Doctor's oldest foes. However, this time around, Davies isn't as eager to play with the classics.

"I do think we've had a lot of Daleks lately," Davies told The Mirror. He noted that all the festive specials that aired during Chris Chibnall's time as Doctor Who showrunner featured the Daleks. "I think they've been done a lot – people are expecting them every year now. So I think they need a good pause. Hopefully, there's some enemies that will become new classics, but it's always good to move on."

It's unclear what qualifies as a "good pause" in Davies' mind. However, it's clear he's not entirely against bringing back classic Doctor Who villains as he has Neil Patrick Harris giving a "terrifying" performance as the Toymaker in the third 60th-anniversary special, "The Giggle."

Terry Nation created the Daleks, who appeared as the villains of Doctor Who's second serial. They've been a recurring threat to the Doctor and his allies ever since. When Davies reintroduced them for the modern Doctor Who relaunch, he tied them to the Doctor's new, tragic backstory, revealing the Dalek race had perished along with Gallifrey and the Time Lords when the Doctor took drastic measures to end the Time War. Despite that, the Daleks managed to return in various forms, sometimes led by an Emperor Dalek, Supreme Dalek, or the Dalek's creator, Davros.

When is the Doctor Who Disney+ release date?

The Doctor Who anniversary specials will be the Doctor Who episodes streamed globally on Disney+ as part of a deal between Disney Branded Television and the BBC. The BBC and Disney announced a plan to "transform Doctor Who into a global franchise for UK audiences and the rest of the world" days after Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whittaker's final episode.

Doctor Who returns in 2023 for its 60th-anniversary specials, followed by the Doctor Who Holiday Special "The Church on Ruby Road," airing on Christmas Day. The special will see Ncuti Gatwa taking over as the Doctor ahead heading into 2024's Season 14, which wrapped filming in July. Doctor Who Season 15, Gatwa's second as the Fifteenth Doctor, began production in October. It's a great time to jump into past seasons of Doctor Who, which are streaming on a different service. You can get caught up with our Doctor Who streaming binge guide. Doctor Who begins streaming on Disney+ on November 25th.