Doctor Who: 10 Writers We Want To See Return
2. Richard Curtis
You could spend ages waxing lyrical about Love Actually and Blackadder when talking about Richard Curtis’s work but when it comes to Doctor Who, all you need are four simple words: Vincent And The Doctor.
Vincent And The Doctor’s monster subplot was a little lacking but the rest of the episode more than makes up for it. Apart from the Krafayis, it’s an astonishingly mature episode to the extent of the credits including a helpline for people suffering from depression. And there’s the core thing about Richard Curtis’ talent: he was able to write a Doctor Who episode that was almost an entirely straightforward look at depression, and still make it engaging.
Obviously Doctor Who shouldn’t just be tackling social issues all the time. That’s how we ended up with The Sun Makers being an allegory about the evils of the taxman. But Curtis being able to hit those mature notes when needed is a huge reason why he should return.
And considering what he, Ben Elton, and Rowan Atkinson did with Blackadder, it would be interesting to see him take on a light-hearted historical story. Hopefully with some fresh horses.