Some Thoughts on Pete McTighe, Rumored Next Showrunner

Posted in: BBC, Current News, Doctor Who, TV | Tagged: doctor who

Pete McTighe has the vibe of being the showrunner-in-waiting for Doctor Who, based on his work over the past decade. Is he the best choice?

Article Summary
Pete McTighe is rumored to be Russell T Davies’ top choice as the next Doctor Who showrunner.
McTighe has contributed to Doctor Who as a writer, including episodes for Jodie Whittaker and recent mini-episodes.
He addressed showrunner rumors at Gallifrey One, emphasizing the position is not his decision to make.
The future direction of Doctor Who may hinge on whether BBC wants a fan insider or a fresh perspective.

Pete McTighe got a lot of attention at Gallifrey One in early February, especially with the rumours that he might be Russell T Davies’ pick for the next showrunner of Doctor Who. He talked about his background as a Doctor Who fan, and when he was eleven, McTighe wrote his own Doctor Who Target novel called ‘Terror of the Gonnes’ featuring the Seventh Doctor and Mel defending a planet from evil talking dragons called Gonnes. He vowed that his childhood attempt at fiction would never be published. In the last decade or so, he’s become firmly part of the Doctor Who world with his work for the franchise. He’s written all the mini-episodes that brought back past companions and Doctors from the Classic era for the Blu-Ray season box sets, two episodes for Jodie Whittaker’s run, “Kablam” and “Praxis”, the episode “Lucky Day” in the last season of the Disney+ era, and wrote the second to forth episodes of The War Between The Land and The Sea with Davies running. To many fans, he already seems like the next showrunner in waiting.

Images: BBC

McTighe spilled a lot about his work as many writers for Doctor Who do when asked: the two episodes he wrote for the Whittaker years were rewritten by showrunner Chris Chibnall and not necessarily the direction or ending he might have chosen; “Lucky Day” was closer to his voice; he wrote the scripts for The War Between The Land and The Sea before Ncuti Gatwa’s first season even began.

When asked if he was the new showrunner for Doctor Who, he said, “It’s not for me to say. It’s not my decision. I will give you my party line, which is that position is not vacant. Russell is the showrunner, and he’s a friend of mine, and whenever he calls, I will come running, but he’s the showrunner, and I’m fine with that.”

Of course, Davies is still the showrunner. He’s the showrunner of the 2026 Christmas Special, which is going into production this year and will be the showrunner for as long as that special is made, all the way to its broadcast on Christmas Day. After that, everything is rumour at this point. If McTighe becomes showrunner, he would be part of the geeky, hardcore fan vibe that Davies began, and that Steven Moffat and Chibnall continued. The question is whether that’s what viewers or the BBC want, given that there’s also been a call for fresh blood and a fresh perspective.

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