{"id":627704,"date":"2026-09-17T17:46:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T17:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/627704\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T17:46:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T17:46:11","slug":"doctor-who-tender-1-series-specials-for-2028-2029-series-2-option","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/627704\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Who Tender: 1 Series\/Specials for 2028\/2029; Series 2 Option"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted in: BBC<\/a>, TV<\/a> | Tagged: doctor who<\/a><\/p>\n

Nearly three months after the word came down that Doctor Who was getting put out to tender, the BBC has released what it’s looking for.<\/p>\n

Published Thu, 17 Sep 2026 09:04:08 -0500 by Ray Flook<\/a><\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

Last updated Thu, 17 Sep 2026 09:04:18 -0500 <\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

Article Summary
\nBBC launches the Doctor Who tender for a 2028\/2029 series and specials, with an option for a second series.
\nThe Doctor Who contract is work-for-hire, with the BBC retaining rights and preferring a Wales-based regional production.
\nBBC Studios is competing hard for Doctor Who, while Electric Entertainment denies any prior BBC talks before the tender.
\nPrime Video signals openness to major UK IP like Doctor Who as the BBC begins shaping the show’s next era. <\/p>\n

For those who need a crash course on what the BBC rolling out the official tender for Doctor Who\u00a0means, basically, the BBC issues a formal notice to potential production teams outlining what it’s looking for: the number of episodes, the number of seasons, the length of each episode, and so on. They’re given a deadline for submitting their pitches, and then the BBC considers what’s been submitted to see if it’s willing to move ahead with one of them. From there, a whole lot of additional negotiating goes on behind the scenes, leading (hopefully) to the announcement of a deal. The BBC’s tender posting is important because it should give fans the best sense of how the BBC envisions the future of Doctor Who. Is it looking for a three-season, eight-episode-per-season deal? Maybe a three-season deal with 3-5 extra-long episodes per season (like Sherlock)? Here’s a look (followed by the complete tender document):<\/p>\n

\"Doctor<\/a>Images: BBC; BBC (edit)<\/p>\n

We’ve published an invitation to tender for the production of Doctor Who. The contract is for a multi-episodic series (including specials) for transmission in 2028\/29, with an option to extend the contract at BBC’s discretion to produce a second series. It’s offered on a work for hire basis with the BBC continuing to broadcast the programme and retaining all rights.<\/p>\n

The production will need to qualify as a regional production under two of the three Ofcom Regional criteria and the successful bidder will be expected to establish a production base in the agreed region. The BBC has a preference for a Wales qualification.<\/p>\n

The deadline for initial submissions is 2pm on 2 October 2026.<\/p>\n

BBC Studios: Back in July,\u00a0BBC Studios CEO\u00a0Tom Fussell made it clear that the production company plans on jumping into the mix. “We’ve been the producer for 60 years, and we want to be the producer for another 60 years, so we will be going for that tender with gusto,” Fussell shared with\u00a0Deadline Hollywood<\/a>. “We are in it to win it.” As for what that might mean specifically \u2013 for example, will it be one or several banners under the BBC Studios umbrella pitching, Fussell wouldn’t say. “We’ve got the full breadth of our studio to look at that, and we will do the best for an absolute adored brand. As the distributor and commercial licensor [of Doctor Who], we understand those fan relationships and can build on that. Doctor Who is something that people in this organization care passionately about,” he added.<\/p>\n

Electric Entertainment:\u00a0Previously, there had been rumblings that Dean Devlin’s\u00a0production company, Electric Entertainment (The Librarians: The Next Chapter), were “in talks” with the BBC. In addition, those same rumblings had Devlin expressing an interest in bringing back the Tenth and Fourteenth Doctors, David Tennant. Of course, the biggest red flag to that rumor would be the idea that the BBC was speaking with anyone before the tender invite had gone out \u2013 that’s a huge no-no on a number of levels. In a statement to\u00a0Radio Times<\/a>, Devlin said that his company would definitely be interested in making its case when the time is appropriate \u2013 but no talks have taken place. “It is untrue that we have had negotiations with the BBC. Preliminary or otherwise. When the proper time comes, when they are prepared to speak with people, we certainly hope to have a discussion with them.”<\/p>\n

Disney+: Just f***ing with you! At this point, it feels like The War Between the Land and the Sea is being held streaming hostage, with 2026 looking a whole lot more like 2027.<\/p>\n

Prime Video: Oliver Jones, Senior Commissioner for UK Scripted at Amazon’s Prime Video, had an interesting response when asked about a possible interest in Doctor Who. His words were potentially even more telling when combined with what he and Nicole Clemens, Amazon MGM Studios’ London-based VP of International Originals, shared about their goal for UK production. “I love ‘Doctor Who,’ and we welcome any conversations around IP,” shared Jones, not exactly shutting down the idea. From there, Jones and Clemens discussed plans for “across-the-board” increases in spending on UK programming. “The UK budget now sits in the UK, and the decision-making sits with me,” said Clemens. “I wanted to let people know that we’re open for business,” they added, noting that funding was available for scripted and unscripted programs.<\/p>\n

“We want broadly commercial shows, but they still need to have a sense of authorship, originality, with deep, multi-faceted characters and a real sense of lean and propulsion. We’re a local UK team, we’re programming for UK audiences, and we’re programming across all of the regions. Ideally, they also have universal themes, universal subject matters, which means that they could travel and get bigger audiences,” Jones explained during their time at this year’s Edinburgh TV Festival. “If it doesn’t work in the UK, it won’t travel,” Clemens added.<\/p>\n

Quay Street Productions Taking a Pass: Speaking with RadioTimes<\/a>, Quay Street Productions (Tip Toe, The Stolen Girl, Fool Me Once) founder Nicola Shindler made it clear that the company won’t be getting into the Time Lord business any time soon. “It’s not for me. I can say that definitively. I think what Russell did with it was absolutely brilliant. I really enjoyed that last series, both of them. I’ve enjoyed all of them actually, but it isn’t my forte,” Shindler shared. “I don’t think it’d be my strength. I think there’s way better people out there who could do it.”<\/p>\n

\u25b6” style=”border: 0px;” allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; fullscreen;” loading=”lazy” src=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WgGnnN6KmB4?feature=oembed” title=”Youtube Video”><\/p>\n

Doctor Who: RTD, BBC & Bad Wolf Made Things Tougher For New Team<\/p>\n

Remember that time before Marvel Studios’ 2021 film Spider-Man: No Way Home came out? Despite being presented with both images and video from filming, Andrew Garfield continued to deny, deny, deny that he was returning as Peter Parker for the multiverse-spanning feature film. Of course, he ended up in the film (along with Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker), with many praising him for not breaking and sticking to his denials until it was pretty much premiere time. Of course, the flip side was that now that that card has been played, fans and media folks are going to dial up their efforts to get anything and everything they can spoiler-wise from sets moving forward. How things played out with Doctor Who kinda reminds me of that very situation, except a whole lot worse. It’s not that the show is being put out to tender, or that Russell T. Davies and Bad Wolf are departing. It’s not even that there won’t be a Christmas Special. It’s that there never was a Christmas Special.<\/p>\n

There are going to be a whole lot of folks spending a whole lot of time trying to nuance the timeline of what happened between October 2025 and earlier this month, and looking to explain that certain decisions were made for the “greater good” of the long-running series. But in the end, the Christmas Special was a lie that was rolled out and propped up over the span of eight months. Some people claimed they had seen scripts, while others claimed Davies had written multiple scripts. We heard rumblings that filming on the Christmas Special would kick off in September\u2026 but wait! It turns out the Christmas Special was already filmed, earlier this year! But in the end, there’s nothing \u2013 or, as Davies posted on Instagram<\/a>: “For the record: there was no script, I never wrote it, and no actor was ever approached to play the next Doctor.”<\/p>\n

\u25b6” style=”border: 0px;” allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; fullscreen;” loading=”lazy” src=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jR8vRP6IK1Y?feature=oembed” title=”Youtube Video”><\/p>\n

With that in mind, we wish the best of luck to whoever walks away with the winning bid to craft a new direction for the long-running show \u2013 they’re going to need it. Because spending months debating a Christmas Special that was never really real in the first place has left an already not especially happy Doctor Who fanbase a lot angrier and a whole lot less trusting. They are going to scrutinize, analyze, and pick apart every little thing that’s said, done, or officially released. If you’re a new team, keep that in mind. You’re going to need to be as open and transparent as possible if you’re looking to mend fences. Is it fair? Nope, especially considering the new team has the unenviable task of revitalizing a show that’s been around for well over 60 years, keeping long-running fans happy, and discovering new ways to attract new viewers. But that’s the situation that they will find themselves in; here’s hoping that they understand and appreciate it.<\/p>\n

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!<\/p>\n

\"facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"pinterest\"<\/a>\"reddit\"<\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!\n <\/p>\n

<\/a>