Doctor Who Will Stay On-Air for at Least Five More Years, Says Showrunner

Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat doesn't need a time machine to assure fans that the series will stay on the air for at least another five years. According to the U.K.'s Radio Times, Moffat told Doctor Who Magazine that the BBC's plans for the show extend through 2020.

"I thought it would last 10 years," Moffat said. "I didn't think it would last 10 years with BBC Worldwide trying to get me in a room to talk about their plan for the next five years! It's going to do a minimum of 15. I mean, it could do 26!

"Ten years on, our ratings are pretty much the same. Actually, internationally bigger. No show does that! You're meant to go down! Doctor Who just stays. It's extraordinary," he said.

Doctor Who continues to be a ratings hit for BBC America. The most recent season drew an average of 2.3 million viewers.

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For fans concerned that the show could end after those five years, Ben Stephenson, head of BBC drama, has a reassuring outlook:

"Because it's such an amazing format, because you can constantly revive it and re-imagine it, then as long as the people looking after it are passionate about it and the BBC is passionate about it, there's absolutely no reason why it can't do another 50 years," he said.

The new season of Doctor Who is currently being shot in Cardiff, Wales.

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