Doctor Who star Peter Davison hits out at show’s modern incarnation for ‘relying too much
Peter Davison has criticised Doctor Who for relying too much on special effects, after the last series of the show faced backlash due to ‘woke‘ storylines.
The 74-year-old actor – who was the Fifth Doctor from 1982 to 1984 – shared his concern that the programme has relied too much on action, which has left ‘huge gaps in the narrative’ of the show.
Doctor Who’s most recent series saw Ncuti Gatwa bow out as the titular Time Lord after just two seasons, with the episode ending with the jaw-dropping reveal that Billie Piper would be playing the next incarnation.
And while a deal with Disney+ has seen the show undergo a flashy big-budget makeover, a recent poll showed almost half of current continuing viewers say they believe the series now puts social justice and so-called ‘woke’ issues above quality.
Speaking on The Lewis Nicholls Show, Pete said: ‘As the special effects got even better, there’s a danger that it becomes just about special effects.’
Comparing Doctor Who to superhero movies, he added: ‘They’re terribly worried now about people’s attention spans. If something isn’t happening every two minutes, they think people are going to turn off, which I don’t believe is true.’
Peter Davison has criticised Doctor Who for relying too much on special effects, after recent series of the show faced backlash due to ‘woke’ storylines
Peter praised modern crime dramas for having a slower pace, but hit out at the sci-fi genre for not doing the same.
He said: ‘For some reason, in science fiction, they feel like they need to go at 100 miles per hour and that makes it, to me, like trailer television.
‘There are huge gaps in the narrative because they’re just leaping onto the next bit and your brain is meant to fill in the [gaps].
‘Maybe if you’re young and healthy, you can do that, I don’t know. I just find it almost like you’re watching a trailer for a Doctor Who show you’d like to watch later.’
However, Peter offered praise to showrunner Russell T. Davies for ‘curing’ issues the show had faced over the years, including complaints that the companions were previously underused, whereas now the likes of Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler are ‘great characters’ who have a lot to do.
Ncuti Gatwa’s stint as the Time Lord came to an end during the recent season finale, in which he regenerated into Billie, but with the actress not credited as The Doctor, Peter isn’t convinced she is the next incantation of the iconic character.
He recently told Starburst magazine: ‘I don’t know what Billie Piper is doing. I have just read about it, and I don’t know what it’s about. It’s a completely mad idea.
‘I don’t think she is the Doctor. I think it’s kind of just a hand grenade thrown into the final episode to try and go, ‘Whoa, what’s this?’ And then it’s almost like, ‘Get out of that.’
The actor – who was the Fifth Doctor from 1982 to 1984 – shared his concern the programme has relied too much on action, which has left ‘huge gaps in the narrative’ of the show
Doctor Who’s most recent series saw Ncuti Gatwa bow out as the titular Time Lord after just two seasons
‘I thought she was a fantastic companion, but she’s got a great career, and she’s got options galore. I don’t know why she would voluntarily choose to go back to Cardiff for a year.’
In a poll published last month, findings suggested that 42 per cent of viewers believe Doctor Who has got worse since being brought back to screens in 2005, with only 18 per cent approving.
Overall, 38 per cent of people responded by saying it put social justice and ‘woke’ issues over quality – rising to 46 per cent among those still tuning into the show.
James Johnson, from pollsters JL Partners, said: ‘This is the first ever major poll done on attitudes to Doctor Who and the results are bleak.
‘The public believe a once-great show has lost its way – and their biggest complaint is it puts pursuit of wokeness above entertainment value. The main words associated with it are rubbish, boring, and woke.
‘If the BBC want to grow the show’s audience once more, they will need a total revamp – and to get back to telling entertaining stories rather than preaching lessons that simply do not have an audience among the British public.’
Other terms featuring most prominently in a ‘wordcloud’ produced by the polling firm after questioning people were ‘weird’, ‘irrelevant’ and ‘awful’ – but also ‘entertaining’, ‘popular’ and ‘timeless’.
Billie Piper’s character Rose Tyler was a companion to versions of the doctor played by Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant.
Producers are keeping Piper’s new role secret, for now, with the BBC saying in a statement after the finale aired: ‘Just how and why she is back remains to be seen.’
Showrunner Russell T Davies said in a statement: ‘It’s an honour and a hoot to welcome her back to the TARDIS, but quite how and why and who is a story yet to be told.’
Piper herself described how Doctor Who had provided some of her best memories – and felt she could not pass up the opportunity to come back.
The former chart-topping popstar said: ‘It’s no secret how much I love this show, and I have always said I would love to return.
‘But who, how, why and when, you’ll just have to wait and see.’
If Piper does indeed become the Doctor, she would be the third woman to fill the role.
The Rwanda-born, Scotland-raised Gatwa, 29, was the first Black actor to helm the show, but he was not the first Black Doctor – with Jo Martin having played the so-called ‘Fugitive Doctor’ in several episodes.
Viewers were stunned when the Doctor Who finale revealed that Billie Piper would be playing the next incarnation of the time traveller
Gatwa took over the role from Jodie Whittaker in 2023.
Whittaker was the 13th Doctor – and the first woman to play the central galaxy-hopping, extraterrestrial Time Lord who regenerates into new bodies, taking over from Peter Capaldi in 2017.
Martin was the second woman to play the title role in a franchise that first aired from 1963 to 1989 before returning in 2005.
Campaigners have accused bosses behind the BBC series of ‘promoting the cult of gender ideology’ in the latest episodes of the time-hopping romp, which is streamed globally thanks to a lucrative deal with Disney thought to be worth £100million.