It appears that the Doctor Who animations have come to an end, thanks to BBC America reportedly pulling funding from the ongoing project.

Animations of classic missing episodes have proved hugely popular, allowing fans to fill in gaps in their DVD collections, primarily featuring Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor but recently venturing in the First Doctor (William Hartnell) era with Galaxy 4.

But these were joint ventures, carried out between BBC Studios and BBC America. One recent report suggests the latter has pulled out of the agreement, meaning that The Abominable Snowmen could be the last missing story to be animated.

It’s quite a shock: the range has given us a number of classics like Fury form the Deep, The Evil of the Daleks, The Faceless Ones, and even an updated Web of Fear. It’d be fair to say we thought the animations would continue until all the 1960s gaps were filled.

However, these are unconfirmed; nonetheless, the news comes from The Mirror, a tabloid with a good history of getting things right in the world of Doctor Who.

And this isn’t to say another source of funding won’t be — or even hasn’t already been — found. The Radio Times suggests BritBox, the streaming service owned by the BBC and ITV which includes an extensive Doctor Who library, might step in and fill the deficit.

As it is, though, it seems the Doctor’s days are numbered, but hey, that’s part of the deal with Doctor Who: there’s always a regeneration just around the corner. We can only hope the range still has legs.

The Abominable Snowmen is set to be released later this year, though an exact date is yet to be announced.

(Thanks to Joe.)