With the future of Doctor Who still up in the air, former showrunner Steven Moffat says there's a "national duty" to keep making the long-running sci-fi show

The future of Doctor Who is still up in the air, but Steven Moffat, who served as showrunner between 2010 and 2017, thinks the BBC has a "national duty" to continue the show.

"I hope it comes back. I don't have any inside information," Moffat, who wrote the show's most recent Christmas special told RadioTimes.com. "I don't know what the future is. I hope there is one. I have no idea… The spin-off's been shot and I imagine decisions don't get taken until that's gone out, and that's not for a while. But it's always painful when it's off the air. I think there's a national duty for the BBC to make Doctor Who."

The spin-off in question is The War Between the Land and the Sea, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Russell Tovey, which will follow Doctor Who's fictional military organization UNIT.

Ncuti Gatwa left the show at the end of Doctor Who season 2 in May (which is the fifteenth season since the series was brought back in 2005) – and his regeneration (into none other than Billie Piper) came as a big surprise. Since that shock twist, updates have been few and far between and showrunner Russell T Davies even said he didn't know what was happening yet back in June. A spin-off,

It looks like the show is safe for now, though. "Any Whovians out there, rest assured – Doctor Who is going nowhere," the BBC's chief content officer Kate Phillips said at Edinburgh TV Festival last month.

"Disney has been a great partnership and it continues with The War Between The Land And The Sea next year but, going forward, with or without Disney, Doctor Who will still be on the BBC." The last two seasons have been released on Disney Plus internationally, although the show still airs on the BBC in the UK.

While we wait for more news on the future of Doctor Who, check out our guide to the best new TV shows to add to your watchlist.