Billie Piper [Source: BBC News]

A new Christmas special of Doctor Who has been cancelled while the BBC plans the next phase of the sci-fi show.

The corporation announced last year that there would be a festive special in 2026, but confirmed on Wednesday that it will no longer proceed.

Instead, the broadcaster is inviting production companies to put themselves forward to help co-produce the next series.

Showrunner Russell T Davies also confirmed he will leave the long-running programme, writing on Instagram that it is “goodbye from me but hello to a big new future for the show”.

Referring to the announcement of the Christmas special, he explained: “We only cooked that up to guarantee a future when no one knew what would happen, but now we do know, there’s no need for it.

“You’ll have to wait a bit longer for new Doctor Who… but you’ll be waiting for more Doctor Who than a one-off. So it’s worth it!

“For the record: there was no script, I never wrote it, and no actor was ever approached to play the next Doctor.”

In a statement, the corporation said the decision to cancel the Christmas episode was made “after careful consideration” and “had not been taken lightly”.

The last series of Doctor Who aired in May 2025 and was the final one to star Ncuti Gatwa, who had announced he was leaving after two series.

The finale saw his Doctor regenerate, and the episode closed with the surprise reintroduction of Billie Piper, who previously played Rose Tyler in the show.

It was not clear whether that meant Piper would become the next Doctor, and the BBC only said at the time that “just how and why she is back remains to be seen”.

Since 2023, Doctor Who has been co-produced by Cardiff-based production company Bad Wolf, while the BBC struck a deal with Disney+ to co-produce and distribute the show internationally.

But Disney’s involvement came to an end in 2025 after 26 episodes, and it was confirmed that the company would no longer be involved with the show.