Doctor Who in the News: January 2026
A New Year for the Whoniverse: Doctor Who Begins 2026 Between Eras
January 2026 was an unusual month for Doctor Who. There was no new regular television series arriving on BBC One, BBC iPlayer or Disney+, and the programme was entering a period of considerable uncertainty following the conclusion of its partnership with Disney+.
Yet the Doctor was far from absent.
Instead, January demonstrated something that has become increasingly important to Doctor Who: the franchise can exist across a remarkably wide range of media. While viewers waited for the next major television chapter, the BBC and its partners continued to develop stories, celebrate the show’s history and expand the Whoniverse through magazines, audio dramas, merchandise and forthcoming projects.
The month also provided an important reminder that the BBC’s commitment to Doctor Who extended beyond the immediate question of who would next pilot the TARDIS on television.
From Tom Baker’s continuing connection with the programme to Alex Kingston’s return to the Whoniverse Show, January was a month that looked both backwards and forwards.
Where Doctor Who Stood at the Start of 2026
The biggest piece of information heading into January had actually been announced several months earlier.
In October 2025, the BBC confirmed that Doctor Who would return with a new Christmas special in 2026, despite Disney+ deciding not to partner on the next season. The BBC said that it remained “fully committed” to the programme and that the TARDIS would remain at the heart of the BBC. Doctor Who
That announcement fundamentally shaped the beginning of 2026.
The immediate future was therefore unusual. There was a confirmed Christmas destination, but the next regular series had not yet been announced in detail.
For fans, that meant January became a period of waiting.
Who would be the next Doctor?
Who would accompany them?
When would filming begin?
What would the next full television season look like?
And, perhaps most importantly, how would Doctor Who develop now that Disney+ was no longer involved in the next regular season?
None of those questions received their definitive answers during January.
But that does not mean the month was uneventful.
Tom Baker Celebrates 92
One of January’s most notable pieces of Doctor Who news centred on one of the show’s most recognisable Doctors.
Tom Baker, the Fourth Doctor, celebrated his 92nd birthday in January 2026.
The BBC’s official Doctor Who website marked the occasion by looking back at Baker’s recent investiture, where he was appointed an MBE for services to television. The ceremony had taken place in November 2025, but the January coverage coincided with Baker’s birthday and the release of Doctor Who Magazine issue 625. Doctor Who
It was a particularly fitting moment for a performer whose association with the programme has lasted for more than half a century.
Baker played the Doctor from 1974 until 1981, making his incarnation one of the longest-running and most culturally recognisable versions of the character.
His scarf, curly hair and distinctive costume became instantly associated with the programme.
But Baker’s relationship with Doctor Who did not end when he left the television series.
He subsequently returned to the role through audio productions and other appearances, continuing a tradition that has allowed former Doctors to remain part of the franchise long after their television tenures ended.
The January feature therefore represented more than a birthday tribute.
It highlighted the unusual longevity of Doctor Who.
Few television programmes can celebrate a leading actor’s 92nd birthday while that actor remains an active part of the franchise.
Doctor Who Magazine Looks Back — and Forward
January also saw the publication of Doctor Who Magazine issue 625.
The magazine’s coverage illustrated just how broad the Doctor Who news cycle had become.
Alongside its Tom Baker material, the issue included interviews and features connected with The War Between the Land and the Sea, the forthcoming CBeebies animated series and classic Doctor Who. Doctor Who
That combination was significant.
The magazine was effectively covering three different versions of Doctor Who at once:
the classic programme, the modern programme and the future programme.
That has become one of the defining characteristics of the modern Whoniverse.
The programme no longer exists simply as a weekly television drama.
There are classic Blu-ray releases, audio dramas, novels, comics, animation, documentaries, magazines and merchandise.
January’s Doctor Who coverage reflected that reality.
The CBeebies Doctor Who Series Remains Part of the Future
One of the most intriguing projects mentioned in the January Doctor Who Magazine material was the new animated series being developed for CBeebies.
At this stage, however, the project was still largely under wraps.
The BBC had previously announced that a new animation was in development, with the intention of introducing the Whoniverse to a younger audience. The BBC’s October 2025 announcement described the CBeebies animation as another forthcoming part of the franchise. Doctor Who
The project would eventually become Doctor Who: TARDIS Crew, but January’s coverage represented an earlier stage in its development.
That distinction is important when looking back at the month.
The eventual details — including the young Doctor, Hannah, Beastie and Toast-IE — were not yet publicly available in January.
Instead, fans knew that the BBC was developing a children’s animation.
The significance of that project was already clear, however.
Doctor Who has always had a substantial young audience, but a CBeebies production offered the opportunity to create a programme specifically for preschool viewers.
Rather than asking children to discover the main programme and understand its continuity, the animation could introduce the fundamental concepts of Doctor Who from scratch:
- the TARDIS;
- time travel;
- alien worlds;
- friendship;
- curiosity;
- problem-solving;
- and the Doctor’s determination to help others.
In retrospect, January was therefore another stage in the expansion of Doctor Who beyond conventional live-action television.
Alex Kingston and the Continuing Story of River Song
Another January highlight came through Alex Kingston, whose character River Song remains one of the most popular figures introduced during the modern era.
Kingston appeared on The Whoniverse Show to discuss River, her time on Doctor Who, her work with Strictly Come Dancing and her forthcoming novel Stormcage. Doctor Who
River is particularly interesting because her story has continued despite the character’s last regular television appearance occurring in 2015’s The Husbands of River Song.
Her adventures have continued through audio drama and other media.
That is a perfect example of how the modern Doctor Who franchise can continue a character’s story without necessarily bringing them back to television.
River’s unusual chronology also makes her one of the characters most naturally suited to the Doctor Who format.
Her life is experienced out of order relative to the Doctor.
What is a first meeting for one character can be a farewell for the other.
What appears to be a new adventure may actually be taking place decades after something audiences have already watched.
Kingston’s continued involvement therefore demonstrates how the Whoniverse can preserve popular characters even when they are not part of the current television cast.
Big Finish Keeps the Eighth Doctor Alive
January was also important for Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor.
Big Finish continued to make the Eighth Doctor a major part of its audio output, including collections celebrating McGann’s Doctor and his adventures with Charlotte Pollard.
Big Finish’s January catalogue included a collection of earlier Eighth Doctor and Charlotte Pollard adventures, while the company also continued releasing new Doctor Who audio material across its extensive range. Big Finish Productions
This is important because McGann’s Doctor occupies a unique position.
His television story was essentially a single feature-length film in 1996.
Yet the Eighth Doctor subsequently became one of the most extensively developed Doctors in expanded media.
Audio allowed McGann to continue playing the character for decades.
That means that, while television viewers were waiting to discover the next incarnation of the Doctor, another version of the character was still having new adventures.
The distinction between “current Doctor” and “former Doctor” has therefore become increasingly flexible.
Fourth Doctor Adventures Continue Too
Tom Baker’s Doctor was not merely being celebrated nostalgically.
Big Finish was also continuing to create new Fourth Doctor stories.
In January, the company announced Lethal Progress, a new box set featuring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor and Sadie Miller as Sarah Jane Smith. The adventures are set during the era associated with the television programme’s thirteenth season. Big Finish Productions
The stories send the Doctor and Sarah into the future, where technological progress brings new dangers.
It is another illustration of the unusual relationship between Doctor Who and its past.
The BBC’s television programme may move forward, but the older Doctors do not necessarily disappear.
Instead, their eras can effectively continue in audio.
For fans, this creates an enormous storytelling landscape in which multiple Doctors can remain active simultaneously.
January’s Quietness Was Significant
One of the most interesting things about January was what didn’t happen.
There was no new Doctor announced.
There was no new television season revealed.
There was no major new casting announcement for the regular series.
Instead, the BBC continued to reinforce the idea that Doctor Who had a future without immediately revealing what that future would look like.
That may have been frustrating for some fans, but it also reflected the programme’s position during a transition.
The Disney partnership had ended.
The BBC had promised a Christmas special.
The next full series remained to be determined.
And other forms of Doctor Who — from animation to audio — were continuing.
January therefore became a month of continuity without certainty.
The Bigger Picture
Looking back, January 2026 can be understood as the beginning of a transitional year.
The television programme was between eras.
But the wider franchise was exceptionally active.
The BBC was celebrating classic Doctors, supporting expanded-media stories, developing children’s animation and continuing to prepare for the programme’s future.
That matters because Doctor Who has always survived change by reinventing itself.
The programme has lost Doctors before.
It has lost companions.
It has disappeared from television for years.
It has changed production teams and formats.
What remained consistent was the central idea of the TARDIS travelling onwards.
January 2026 was another example.
The Doctor was between destinations.
But the TARDIS was still moving.