Jed Mercurio of Line Of Duty is one of the names in the frame for Doctor Who, as the deadline passes for initial tenders. More here.
As the BBC continues its tendering process for the future of Doctor Who, some of the runners and riders have come to light.
Long story short, following Disney’s decision to end its partnership on the show, the BBC has decided to put it out to competitive tender. We talked about that a bit right here.
We’re at the stage now where we’re beginning to get a flavour of who has put their hat in the ring, and one name immediately peaks interest: Jed Mercurio.
Mercurio is the creator and showrunner of Line Of Duty, which returns to our screens next year. Through the production company Hat Trick Mercurio, he’s believed to have attached himself to a proposal to take on the show. What’s more, he’s far from alone.
In terms of competition, World Productions is in the mix too. This is interesting: World Productions is the company that makes Line Of Duty, and its tender is believed to be separate from Mercurio’s. As per Deadline, this would mean World Productions effectively making the show on behalf of ITV, for the BBC. If you’d have written that sentence in the 1990s, someone would have thought you’d gone mad.
There are other candidates. Two different BBC Studios are apparently putting their own chips on the table. Then, Scotland-based STV Studios want to have a look too, and would presumably move production of the show up to Scotland.
The deadline has now passed for interested parties to get involved in Doctor Who, and it’s entirely conceivable that there are more names involved, who haven’t yet leaked out. The next stage is to ultimately battle it down to a shortlist, and the idea is that the tender is awarded early next year.
Doctor Who isn’t expected back on our screens until the end of 2027 at the very earliest, probably longer. As we hear more, we’ll let you know…
