Outgoing Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies has criticised BBC director general Matt Brittin over recent comments he made regarding an AI-generated episode of the cult show. Speaking at the Royal Television Society conference last month, Brittin said he’d been sent a fully AI-generated episode of “Doctor Who,” which he described as “pretty good.” Although he was quick to add it was “not going to replace humans,” his wording sparked instant criticism, and Brittin later admitted he had “got into trouble” over what he’d said.
Davies addressed the controversy in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s The Media Show, labeling the executive’s public assessment as an avoidable misstep.
Weighing the Cost of AI Rhetoric in Television
“That’s a clumsy thing to say in an industry where he’s got writers and artists and it specifically affects people, they’re the first to take the blow,” Davies said. He added that his inbox went “ping ping ping ping ping,” wondering aloud what the director general’s communication channels looked like in the wake of the remarks.
Davies—who revived “Doctor Who” in 2005 and then returned again in 2023—pointed out that Brittin only recently joined the BBC following a career at Google. The writer suggested the executive “hasn’t worked in television for that long and might not be so fruity with an opinion in future.”
Navigating Production Shifts and Future Leadership
The friction over emerging technology coincides with a period of transition for the series, a BBC icon for more than 60 years. The future of Doctor Who is currently up in the air following the departure of Disney+ as a co-financier.
This summer, Davies announced he would be stepping back and the BBC cancelled the planned Christmas special. Last month, the BBC launched a competitive tender inviting pitches from producers to reboot the series, with Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio among those to have submitted their interest.
Production Timelines and Casting Horizons
“You’ll start to see production with a brand-new Doctor, a brand-new companion, summer next year,” Davies stated.
The timeline establishes the next concrete operational milestone for the series as the BBC evaluates pitches from prospective creative teams to steer the next era of the time-travel drama.
Origins and Revival of the Modern Era
“He didn’t say yes immediately,” Julie confirms, “but it was so obviously the right fit for everyone that Russell was soon working on the scripts and we were in pre-production.” Additionally, as Julie Gardner noted regarding the early revival, “But without the quality of the scripts by Russell and our other writers – Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, Robert Shearman and Paul Cornell – we couldn’t hope to attract the likes of Simon Callow, Richard Wilson, Penelope Wilton and Simon Pegg as guest artists.”
