10 Moments That Almost Killed Doctor Who

Even with Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall staying on for a third series and three specials, the uncertainty was far from over.

Going into The Power of the Doctor, it was still unknown what would come next after Thirteen regenerated on that cliffside in one of the most stunning regenerations we’ve ever seen. It was written and shot to be vague and open-ended, even ending with "To Be Continued" as at this point, it wasn’t known who would be taking over from Whittaker.

Similarly, with showrunner Chris Chibnall on his way out, there was a period where the BBC didn't have a succession plan for the show, and it was in a bit of a state of limbo.

But while COVID nearly killed the show before Flux, it was also responsible for saving it in a big way. The lockdown tweetalongs sparked something inside David Tennant, Catherine Tate, and Russell T Davies, that made all of them keen for one more ride in the TARDIS. And the rest, as they say, is history.

This down-to-the-wire last minute save was in stark contrast to the first NuWho showrunner transition, where Steven Moffat even spoke about taking on the head honcho role all the way back in the Silence in the Library commentary in early 2008.

While it may be a slight exaggeration to say that this moment almost "killed" Doctor Who, it's not certain what would've happened had Russell T Davies not participated in those tweetalongs, and not made contact with the BBC. At the very least, we were certainly facing a much more delayed wait for Doctor Who's return than the year between The Power of the Doctor and The Star Beast.