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Following Ncuti Gatwa's exit after two seasons, it sounds like we will soon learn who the sixteenth Doctor is as Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies teases the news.
"Will we get an announcement about a new Doctor soon?" asked radio host Gary Davies on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show on June 1, 2026, to which Davies replied, "You will get an announcement. There is a press release lumbering through the BBC… So I promise you that in about a week or two weeks, there will be some sort of press release."
However, it sounds like Davies is just as tired as we are waiting for an official announcement to drop, as he described the process "like the Jurassic period" where "57 people have to sign off on every single word." After the showrunner confirmed that news is on the way, he added, "and yet I can hear the gears slowing down even as I say that. You know this place."
Fans are champing at the bit to learn who the new Doctor will be after Doctor Who season 2 (technically season 15) saw Gatwa's Doctor sacrifice himself and regenerate into a former companion played by Billie Piper. This left the series pretty open-ended, with many wondering if Piper would be the new Doctor, after she previously played David Tennant's Sidekick Rose Tyler in the '00s. Piper wouldn't be the first woman to take on the role, though, as Jodie Whittaker starred as the Thirteenth Doctor from 2017 to 2022.
Aside from who will play the new Doctor, Davies has also touched on whether or not there will be a Doctor Who Christmas special this year. Although it was announced in October 2025, it looks like the 2026 Christmas special may not be happening anymore. In an interview with LBC, Davies laid out his plans for the rest of the year, which didn't include a Whoniverse festive addition. "I won’t be back filming anything until next year, really," said the showrunner.
However, the last Doctor Who Christmas special, titled 'Joy to the World', hit screens on Christmas Day 2024 and was filmed over a year before that. This means that if there is a Christmas special on the way this year, it may have already been filmed with the new Doctor. But that would be a whopper of a secret to have kept under wraps.
While we wait for more news on Doctor Who, check out our guide to the most exciting upcoming TV shows to fill out your watchlist.
