A MASSIVE £100million was blown on the BBC’s last two Doctor Who series — yet viewing figures plummeted.
Actor Ncuti Gatwa, 32, quit as the Time Lord in May as ratings for the sci-fi classic fell amid criticism of its woke storylines.
A whopping £100million was blown on the BBC’s last two Doctor Who series, pictured unpopular Time Lord Ncuti Gatwa[/caption]
Speculation has been growing that, following the flops, the Beeb would put the show, which launched in 1963, on ice.
Viewing figures have fallen steadily since a record 16.1million in 1979 to between 2.5 and four million by the time of Gatwa’s exit.
Jodie Whittaker, the previous Doctor, pulled in 8.2million on average.
Each of the 18 Ncuti episodes cost £5million to £6million.
A large chunk came from licence fee-payers in the dual funding deal with Disney+.
The exact figure is not known.
Doctor Who’s executive producer Jane Tranter said the streaming service, the show’s co-producer, would decide in the middle of next year whether to renew its contract with the Beeb.
She told the Royal Television Society’s Television Magazine: “There have been slashes in their programme budgets.
“They’re looking to take their time to balance everything out and decide what . . . to do.”
Ms Tranter insisted that Doctor Who “will keep going, one way or another”.
She added: “At its heart it’s a BBC show.”