BREAKING NEWS: Steven Moffat to replaced by Chris Chibnall as Doctor Who showrunner

The Radio Times has broken the story that Steven Moffat will step aside as showrunner of Doctor Who after overseeing one more series.  His replacement will be Chris Chibnall who has prevously written five episodes for the show and has had great success as the creator of Broadchurch.

Moffat's final 12-part series will not air until spring 2017 and Chibnall’s debut series will launch in 2018.  This means there will be no new Doctor Who on TV this year apart from the Christmas special.

BBC1 controller Charlotte Moore explains:

 “I have decided to schedule Steven’s big finale series in Spring 2017 to bring the nation together for what will be a huge event on the channel.   2016 is spoilt with national moments including the Euros and Olympics and I want to hold something big back for 2017 - I promise it will be worth the wait!”

Steven Moffat says of his decision to leave:

 “Feels odd to be talking about leaving when I’m just starting work on the scripts for season 10, but the fact is my timey-wimey is running out. While Chris is doing his last run of Broadchurch, I’ll be finishing up on the best job in the universe and keeping the TARDIS warm for him. It took a lot of gin and tonic to talk him into this, but I am beyond delighted that one of the true stars of British Television drama will be taking the Time Lord even further into the future. At the start of season 11, Chris Chibnall will become the new showrunner of Doctor Who. And I will be thrown in a skip.”

Chris Chibnall, a lifelong fan of the show, expressed his excitement:

 "Doctor Who is the ultimate BBC programme: bold, unique, vastly entertaining, and adored all around the world.  So it's a privilege and a joy to be the next curator of this funny, scary and emotional family drama. I’ve loved Doctor Who since I was four years old, and I’m relishing the thought of working with the exceptional team at BBC Wales to create new characters, creatures and worlds for the Doctor to explore."

Chris Chibnall has extensive experience as a television writer and producer since 2002,  His TV career started as the creator the BBC drama Born and Bred.  In 2006, he was chosen by Russell T. Davies to be the lead writer for the first two series of Torchwood  and wrote eight episodes for the spin-off.  For Doctor Who, Chibnall wrote the episodes 42 (2008),  Hungry Earth/Cold Blood (2010), Dinosaurs on a Spaceship and The Power of Three (2012).  He then created Broadchurch for ITV which was a huge hit with audiences and critics, attracting a peak of  over 10 million UK viewers in 2013 and winning the BAFTA for Best Drama Series.  

Here is Chibnall talking about his career and favourite TV dramas in a video released last year on the BBC Writers Room YouTube channel: