Doctor Who Theory: Why We Won't Meet The 14th Doctor Until The 60th Anniversary

With the news that former showrunner Russell T Davies is set to take over the reins of Doctor Who from the show's 60th anniversary in 2023, fans across the world have been (in the main) celebrating the return of a man who transformed their favourite show for the modern era. Davies, a known fan of the classic series, is frequently credited with transforming the show for the 21st century, and many are hoping he can repeat that success after what has been a rather lacklustre response to Doctor Who in the past couple of years.

While we now know who's taking over as showrunner, we don't know which actor's taking on the role of the 14th Doctor. And since Davies was announced, everyone's been eagerly anticipating this tidy bit of news.

But this particular writer has a theory: we're going to be waiting a while.

And that's because we won't meet the next Doctor until the closing moments of the 60th anniversary, which will likely (and hopefully) take place on 23 November 2023.

It's a while to wait, which will be disappointing for fans. But if you look close enough, the clues are out there already, and it could be a strength of the show in the long run. Here's a breakdown of why...

Before we delve into the specific theory, it's worth remembering a bit of Who lore which was introduced back on the 50th anniversary - right in the closing scenes of The Day Of The Doctor.

Think back to Tom Baker's surprise appearance and his words to Eleven in the final moments of this special episode. Appearing as an elderly museum creator, he explains to Matt Smith's incarnation that he saved Gallifrey. There's an implication he knows this because he may actually be a future incarnation of the Doctor, revisiting an old face as it were.

At the time, the vast majority of fans took this conversation as light humour and didn't expect any follow up; at the end of the day, we were all just so pleased to see then-showrunner Steven Moffat include a fan favourite Doctor in an anniversary special.

But this is Doctor Who, and we know that future showrunners like to build on existing continuity. Russell T Davies has himself stated he is a big fan of the work both Moffat and Chris Chibnall have done with the show since his initial departure.

So, wouldn't the 60th anniversary of the show, exactly ten years on from this iconic episode, be the perfect opportunity to revisit this concept and potentially build on it?