Former Doctor Who writer says the beloved sci-fi show is "probably as dead we've ever known it" and Ncuti Gatwa's season 2 finale "put a full stop on things"

Former Doctor Who writer Robert Shearman says the series is "probably as dead as we've ever known it" after Ncuti Gatwa's surprise regeneration.

"It’s weird because the show is probably as dead as we’ve ever known it," he told Doctor Who Magazine (via Cultbox). "After 1989 we had, for years, a current Doctor," Shearman continued, referring to the years between 1989 and 2005 when the show wasn't airing (minus a TV movie in 1996). "Now, everything that is ever going to be produced in Doctor Who terms is going to feel retrogressive. At least with the New Adventures and then the BBC Books you thought, 'It’s the current Doctor – [Sylvester] McCoy or [Paul] McGann.'"

In short, Doctor Who may have been off our screens for prolonged periods of time, but viewers still had a solid idea of who the Doctor was – something that can't be said for the latest iteration of the Time Lord.

"No one’s going to start writing Doctor Who books with a Billie Piper Doctor, because no one knows what that means," Shearman, who wrote the 2005 episode 'Dalek', added. "In a funny way, the closing moments of [season 2 finale] The Reality War seem to put a full stop on things. We didn’t have that before."

In the season 2 finale, Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor regenerated into Piper, who previously played companion Rose Tyler from 2005 to 2006 (as well as a couple of subsequent specials). Whether this new iteration of the Doctor is Rose or just looks like her remains to be seen, as updates on the show's future have been few and far between since season 2 (which is the fifteenth since Doctor Who returned in 2005) wrapped up in May.

"We don't know what's happening yet," showrunner Russell T Davies said in June, although he assured fans that this wasn't "the end." The BBC has since said that Doctor Who will continue "with or without" Disney (the last two seasons have streamed internationally on Disney Plus, but the show still airs on the BBC in the UK).

While we wait for more updates on the future of Doctor Who, check out our guide to the best new TV shows still to come in 2025.