The Doctor Who Christmas special has been scrapped amid the departure of showrunner Russell T Davies.
The showrunner originally spearheaded the beloved sci-fi show between 2005 and 2010 and returned to the fold for the Ncuti Gatwa era in 2022.
However, he announced on Instagram on Wednesday that it was time for him to say "goodbye" to the show once again.
At the same time, BBC officials revealed that the 2026 Christmas special, which was first announced last year, would no longer proceed because they are currently on the hunt for production companies to help co-produce the next series.
"And so GOODBYE from me to Doctor Who but HELLO to a big new future for the show, as the BBC announces it's putting the show out to tender," Davies wrote on Instagram. "As a result, there won't be a Christmas Special - 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!"
The writer and producer also clarified that he never wrote a script for the special and never approached a new actor to play the next Doctor.
"Now I'm as excited as anyone to see what comes next! Will they keep the theme tune? Will they lose the blue box?" he continued. "It's all up for grabs, which is so Doctor Who, exciting and unpredictable and new!"
BBC officials explained that they were choosing to "invest in the long-term future of the show" by finding new production partners instead of bridging the gap with a one-off.
The most recent Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, made his first appearance in December 2023 and left the show after two seasons in May 2025. In his final episode, the Doctor regenerated and Billie Piper, who previously played Rose Tyler, appeared.
However, it was not clear if Rose would become the next Doctor, with BBC executives saying at the time that "just how and why she is back remains to be seen".
