10 HUGE Revelations About Disney Doctor Who In Russell T Davies' New Memoir

5. Why Disney "Threw Away" The 60th Anniversary Specials

Though starting RTD2 with the 60th anniversary specials was hugely exciting, in practice it didn’t quite work, sending the mixed message that this was a new show... that was starting by looking backwards?

In hindsight, RTD also admits that this wasn’t the best approach, particularly for the show’s big launch on Disney+. He said:

"It was the sixtieth anniversary, which meant going to a streamer to say this is a brand-new show that’s celebrating sixty years. It’s launching and regenerating at the same time. Quite a difficult concept."

In his view, Disney’s answer was to "throw away" the 60th specials, dropping them onto Disney+ with absolutely zero fanfare.

So if you were wondering why Disney didn’t promote Doctor Who until the launch of Season 1, that’s why (though the 2023 actors' strike no doubt also played a part).

RTD accepts ultimate responsibility for leading with the 60th specials, a situation from which he believes his second era "never quite recovered."

Would things have gone differently if Disney had thrown its weight behind it sooner? Who knows, but given that the 60th also introduced the new Doctor, perhaps it would've been wiser to put a bit more effort in.