Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies recently admitted that the topics he writes about for television are “being a gay man or being a queer person.”
Russell T. Davies via BBC Newsround YouTube
As reported by Radio Times, Davies appeared at a BAFTA event called A Life in Pictures: Russell T. Davies, where he stated, “It’s not so much that there’s unexplored topics, but the topics I do write about keep changing – like being a gay man or being a queer person in society is changing now.”
He continued, “Ten years ago, or even [when we did] Queer as Folk 25 years ago, we were on the up, it was like, ‘Good times are here.’ Now they’re absolutely not. That wave coming from America where they’re trying to have legislation banning drag queens… that’s absolutely going to come here.”
Jinkx Monsoon in Doctor Who (2024), BBC
Davies went on, “I think our rights are paper thin. The world is becoming unsafe, so I will always keep writing about that, I will always keep writing about male gay-ness, if people will have me!”
Davies then confirmed that his next show after Doctor Who will be focused on this, “The world has changed. The world changes around you. So, whatever I do next, after Doctor Who, I hope is about that, absolutely, because we’re in a very strange world now.”
Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday in Doctor Who (2024), BBC
These comments are unsurprising. Davies told Deadline it was his job to push transgender and queer stories. He said, “I know I was part of a rising tide of gay, lesbian, and other writers, all of us contributing to the soaps and chipping into primetime dramas, all of us slowly and then rapidly, increasing the visibility of queer characters on screen. And I’m lucky that I was one that burst through and got that onscreen.”
He continued, “I’m always aware, especially as time marches on, that I carry this legacy of being white, male and gay. And it’s my job to look beyond that because there’s no point in sitting still. I have to look at myself and be certain that I’ve moved on. I look to society and try to listen to what’s going on and open gateways.”
Davies then declared, “When you become a senior figure in television, it’s your job to open doors and let the next people through and to let trans and queer stories through and to become familiar with this language myself instead of settling into middle age.”
Alexander Devrient as Colonel Ibrahim, Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor, and Lenny Rush as Morris Gibbons in Doctor Who (2024), BBC
Davies’ most recent comments come in the wake of him claiming that he was unsure about the future of Doctor Who following the show’s disastrous viewership ratings. Davies attempted to spin the ratings telling Radio Times, “I’m very proud of it! You know, they might not be the ratings we’d love. We always want higher. But they are building over the 28-day period. Episode 1, Space Babies, is already up to 5.6 million and counting. So it is getting there.”
He added, “I was brought back in to bring in a youthful audience. That’s been massively successful.”
Davies explained, “The audience no one ever gets are the under-30s. They just don’t watch television anymore. But those figures are astronomic for Doctor Who, it’s their top programme in that bracket.”
However, he went on to admit that following the show’s second season, which was already greenlit along with the first, the show’s future was “still up in the air.”
Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor and Bonnie Langford as Mel in Doctor Who (2024), BBC
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Davies had previously informed SFX Magazine via Games Radar that he had plans for both a third and fourth season.
He told the outlet, “I’m planning season 3 now, there’s plans for season 4.”
Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor and Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday in Doctor Who (2024), BBC
What do you make of Davies’ comments?
