BBC 'working hard' on future of Doctor Who, new BBC director general says

Announcing his departure, Davies said Doctor Who's future was "unpredictable and new" and he was "excited to see what comes next", adding the programme's "big new future" involved it being put out for "competitive tender".

He said: "There won't be a Christmas special - we only cooked that up to guarantee a future when no-one knew what would happen, but now we do know, there's no need for it.

"You'll have to wait a bit longer for new Doctor Who... but you'll be waiting for more Doctor Who than a one-off. So it's worth it."

Following the news of the cancellation, a BBC spokesperson said: "After careful consideration the BBC, Russell T Davies and Bad Wolf have collectively decided not to go ahead with the previously announced Doctor Who Christmas episode.

"This decision was not taken lightly and we know it will be disappointing for fans, but in order to set the show up for future series.

"It was decided that rather than bridge the gap with a one-off special, we are choosing to push forward to invest in the long-term future of the show, which ensures that when the Tardis lands once more, it does so in all its glory."

The corporation said its previously announced Doctor Who animation series, which will air on CBeebies, was currently in production.

Doctor Who first launched in 1963, and follows the adventures of an eccentric Time Lord who travels in a spaceship larger on the inside, that disguises itself as a 1960s British police box.

Tom Baker, Sylvester McCoy and William Hartnell are among the stars who portrayed reincarnations of the Doctor in the original series of the show, which was cancelled in 1989.

It was later revived in 2005 by Davies, and in the last two decades stars including Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith and Jodie Whittaker have played the Doctor.