'Doctor Who' Season 10 News: Showrunner Steven Moffat To Exit Series
Steven Moffat, who has served as "Doctor Who" showrunner since 2010, will exit the series after its tenth season, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
The news was first announced by BBC on Twitter. "Steven Moffat will step down as Head Writer & Exec Producer after S10… Chris Chibnall to take over!" a tweet by the Doctor Who Official Twitter account, posted on Jan. 22, read.
Moffat's impending departure from the cult favorite British sci-fi series follows that of actress Jenna Coleman, who has left "Doctor Who" to star in the upcoming ITV miniseries "Victoria," which will have a limited eight-episode run later this year.
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"Feels odd to be talking about leaving when I'm just starting work on the scripts for season 10, but the fact is my timey-wimey is running out," a statement from Moffat read. The current "Doctor Who" showrunner, who has been working on the series since it was revived in 2005, will be replaced by Chris Chibnall, the creator of the British crime drama "Broadchurch." Moffat teased that "it took a lot of gin and tonic to talk him into this" but said that he is "beyond delighted" that Chibnall will be taking over the reins and taking "Doctor Who" into the future.
Chibnall released his own statement about his future participation in "Doctor Who," calling it a privilege and a joy and revealing that he has been a "Doctor Who" fan since the age of four. Chibnall also said that he is looking forward to working with the "Doctor Who" team at BBC Wales "to create new characters, creatures and words for the Doctor to explore." He praised Moffat's work on the series, saying that the long-time "Doctor Who" showrunner had "achieved the impossible" by "continually expanding Doctor Who's creative ambition while growing its global popularity."
For his part, Chibnall said that Moffat has been a "dazzling" and "daring" showrunner and revealed that, judging from Moffat's plans for the seventh season of "Doctor Who," "it's clear he'll be going out with a bang." "Just to make my life difficult," Chibnall teased.
The first season of "Doctor Who" with Chibnall as showrunner will air sometime in 2018. "Doctor Who" returns for its latest season later this year.
