4. It Was Nearly Axed After David Tennant Left
Doctor Who will always be haunted by its controversial cancellation in 1989 but it might shock you to hear that it wasnt the first time the series has faced the cut. Perhaps even more surprising is the revelation that it happened once again as recently as David Tennants departure when BBC chiefs were called into crisis meetings to discuss how on Earth the show would manage to survive without him at its helm. This is according to Steven Moffat, anyway, who has revealed that even he was unnerved by how seemingly little the BBC had faith in the programme following the demise of the Tenth Doctor. Its safe to say that the shows popularity peaked during David Tennants tenure but its format also heavily depends on renovation. Suffice to say, the BBC were just plain silly to even doubt its longevity as it was left in the more than capable hands of Matt Smith. As of 2014, with Peter Capaldis introduction as the Twelfth Doctor, Doctor Who has surpassed a worldwide viewership of over 70 million and the only way is up for everybody's favourite Time Lord. It was probably just a senior moment amongst the powers that be and as such it would never have come to any fruition. Let's hope so, anyway, for the sake of Whovian sanity itself.
Dan Butler
Doctor Who Editor
Dan Butler is the Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture.com. When he isn't writing his own articles or editing other people's, he can be found trawling the internet for gifs of Steven Moffat laughing. Contact him via dan.butler@whatculture.co.uk.
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