Russell T Davies on reviving the Doctor Who Experience: “Once bitten, twice shy”

Russell T Davies on reviving the Doctor Who Experience: “Once bitten, twice shy”

Russell T Davies in front of a backdrop with the "Doctor Who" logo and the BBC emblem. He wears glasses and a dark jacket over a collared shirt.
Russell T Davies

The Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff was adored by fans, offering the opportunity to see classic costumes and props as well as take part in interactive experiences inspired by the BBC sci-fi series.

The exhibition closed its doors after five years in Cardiff in September 2017 – but could it ever return?

Though Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies isn’t ruling out the opening of a similar attraction in future, he did caution that any such project was unlikely in the immediate future during an interview on the Firecrotch & Normcore: They Like To Watch podcast.
 

“That Doctor Who Experience lost a lot of money,” Davies explained. “That’s not a secret, it just did”. “I loved it – it was brilliant, it was so lavish… no wonder it lost money. So it’s kind of ‘once bitten, twice shy’.”

Doctor-Who-News
The Doctor Who Experience

Davies said that he and the creative forces behind Doctor Who will “see how successful it becomes” before committing to any franchise expansions.

“If it starts to get the kids watching, if it starts to sell the toys, if it starts creating demand, then it’ll start to happen. Right now, it’s a difficult time for that.”

Davies did add, though, that “the early signs are great” for the new era of Doctor Who, which stars Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and sees the BBC partner with Disney for global distribution of the series.

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The Doctor Who Experience.

The new season of Doctor Who is set to launch on 11th May in the UK, with the first two episodes available on iPlayer from midnight, with a BBC One broadcast following later on Saturday evening.

Millie Gibson will star opposite Gatwa’s Doctor as new companion Ruby Sunday, while other returning cast will include Jemma Redgrave (Kate Stewart), Anita Dobson (Mrs Flood), Michelle Greenidge (Carla Sunday), Yasmin Finney (Rose Noble), and Bonnie Langford (Mel Bush).

Joining the returnees will be new guest cast including Aneurin Barnard, Jinkx Monsoon, Indira Varma, and Lenny Rush.

Ex-showrunner Steven Moffat will also be back to write episode 3 of the eight-part series.

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