Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall rumored to quit ‘Doctor Who’ in 2019

Can this be the last season for these two new stars?

Susan Hewitt

Jodie Whittaker, the first female Doctor, and Chris Chibnall, the current showrunner of “Doctor Who,” are both rumored to leave the show after season 12.

Taking over as showrunner starting at the current season 11, Chibnall was originally set to release each season at 18 month intervals. This would mean releasing three seasons in five years, but with the success of the Sunday night “Doctor Who” shows, BBC want him to release more, according to Outpost Skaro. Now, Chibnall must release an entire “Doctor Who” season each year. This, along with unnamed “unsatisfactory” conditions at BBC could be the reason as to why Chibnall would quit.

Steven Moffat, the former showrunner for “Doctor Who,” passed the title to Chibnall in 2016, but there is reason to believe Chibnall did not want the position in the first place.

“I like doing different things,” says Chris Chibnall in an interview with Starburst Magazine back in 2013. “For me, to be able to do “United,” and “Dinosaurs,” and “Broadchurch,” that’s what’s really exciting to me as a writer. I love nipping in and doing a “Doctor Who,” but I love that I don’t have to run it, frankly! I love that that’s Steven’s problem!”

With the success of his show “Broadchurch,” Chibnall may have been forced into the position by BBC, or he simply changed his mind since the interview.

Rumors claim Jodie Whittaker may leave after season 12 of “Doctor Who” as well because Chibnall would be leaving. Whittaker knows Chibnall from “Broadchurch,” so their friendship would be reason for Whittaker to quit if Chibnall stopped running the show.

Outpost Skaro claims Whittaker may quit because the annual release of each season could be “too much for the young mum.” Jodie Whittaker has a 3-year-old daughter so leaving the show to take care of the toddler seems plausible.

Production has started for season 12 according to both Starburst Magazine and Radio Times. If this season is the last for showrunner Chibnall and star Whittaker, hopefully it will end their time in “Doctor Who” with a bang. 

BBC One