Doctor Who maestro laments writers being woke instead of loving television

THE mastermind behind the renaissance of Doctor Who has criticsed ‘ rubbish’ television screenwriters obsessed with diversity.

Russell T Davies, the chief writer and producer of the show’s 2005 reboot, said many scriptwriters today did not love TV and were more interested in representation.

‘I do a lot of mentoring, and there are voices wanting to be heard – of any gender or ethnicity – who consider themselves invisible,’ he said. ‘They hate the media that ignores them, and they’re trapped into wanting a job in that medium purely to increase representation.’ He told The Sunday Times: ‘I read their scripts and they’re rubbish. They don’t actually love television, so they don’t know how to write for it.’

In the same interview, actor and director Mark Gatiss shared his concern about the quality of new writers.

‘Sometimes I think I’m like Pollyanna because I’ve met so many people who hate making television,’ he said. ‘It seems to make them so miserable. Go and work on the bins or something. It’s hard work – it gives you ulcers – so you have to love it.’

Mr Davies has returned to oversee Doctor Who in its 60th anniversary year after the most recent run suffered a poor reception from fans and critics.

It faced criticisms under Chris Chibnall for being too ‘political’ and ‘woke’. He quit the show after the latest Christmas special, the final episode with Jodie Whittaker as the first female doctor.

In 2005, Mr Davies revived Doctor Who to critical acclaim by casting Christopher Eccleston and then David Tennant in the lead role and penning more adult and modern storylines.

This year, fans will see Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor, the first black actor to take on the role.