Returning Doctor Who executive producer, Julie Gardner, says one of the most important things to get right for Series 14 is to deliver on the “big and extremely ambitious” scripts by showrunner, Russell T Davies.

It’s always exciting to hear more about upcoming episodes, and while it’s no shock that Gardner is bigging up not just the show she’s working on but also the scripts penned by her friend, her enthusiasm (alongside Davies’) is nonetheless infectious. She says:

“There’s only one worry on Doctor Who: that production delivers on the extraordinary quality of Russell’s writing. He’s writing amongst his best-ever work. The scripts are big and extremely ambitious. The only worry I ever have is that we get it right for him. We run to keep up.”

Her comments are made in the latest Doctor Who Magazine Special Edition, focused on Showrunners, and she further explains:

“[Russell is] the beating heart of the creative offering that is Doctor Who. It’s his vision on screen, which starts in his ideas for episodes. He writes the majority of scripts and talks with the script team about who and when additional writers come in. His creative decisions impact the budget, and vice versa, so he’s across the headlines of budgets and the dynamics of what happens on any day in the shoot. He’s on every single casting email, and his voice is always the most important in the mix. But I’m happiest when he’s in front of his computer screen, writing. That’s the bit no one else in our [executive producer] group can do.”

Gardner is one of the heads at Bad Wolf, the production company jointly making Doctor Who now, a new era for the programme. But of course, she’s worked on Doctor Who before, with Russell, so we know the series is in good hands.

Doctor Who Series 14 will begin in early 2024, with Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson as new companion, Ruby Sunday.