Four new writers have been announced for Season 2 of Doctor Who. This is very exciting news, especially since there were shockingly few writers for last year’s season. Of the nine episodes written – including the Christmas special “The Church on Ruby Road” – only two weren’t written by Russell T Davies. That’s a shockingly low number, so I’m genuinely glad more writers have been brought on board for the subsequent season.
Juno Dawson
Juno Dawson looks like an exciting addition to the writing team. It’s partly because she has a highly successful career as a writer already, having written bestselling books This Book is Gay and Her Majesty’s Royal Coven.
But honestly, as a Whovian, what’s even more exciting is that Dawson has written for the Doctor Who universe already. Along with creating the scripted podcast Doctor Who: Redacted, she’s also written a couple of episodes of Torchwood for Big Finish and wrote the Thirteenth Doctor novel “The Good Doctor”. It’s great to see a writer already experienced in writing for the Doctor Who universe get the chance to write for the TV series.
"I started watching Doctor Who with my grandma when I was ten-years-old in the 1990s. From writing fan-fiction for an audience of one, to scripting the best TV show of all time is truly a dream come true. "Juno Dawson
Inua Ellams
Inua Ellams’s writing career has covered poetry and plays for the theater, the latter of which has included The 14th Tale and Barber Shop Chronicles. It’s difficult to know what to expect from his Doctor Who story, but based on the quote below, it’s clear that he’s a big fan of the show.
"For as long as I can remember television, I've been a Doctor Who fan. I started watching when I was 10 in Nigeria. The show invited me to dream, to live beyond my reality. Getting to write for the show felt like touching God; it was blasphemously humbling and exciting, and I can’t wait to share my story with the world."Inua Ellams
I don’t think I’ve ever heard the fandom experience described quite like that before. It makes me wonder what kind of storytelling we can expect from Ellams.
Sharma Angel-Walfall
Sharma Angel-Walfall has written an episode of Dreamland and has been in various writers rooms, which include streaming series Supacell and Renegade Nell. Like Ellam, it’s difficult to know what to expect, but that’s why it’s always exciting to have new writers.
"I am buzzing to be a part of such an iconic show! I am a massive Russell T Davies fan, so it is a dream come true to be able to work alongside him, especially on a show that I love. It’s a real privilege to be a part of the Doctor Who family."Sharma Angel-Walfall
Pete McTighe
Lastly, we have someone already familiar to Doctor Who fans: Pete McTighe, who previously wrote episodes “Kerblam!” and “Praxeus”, the latter of which he co-wrote with previous showrunner Chris Chibnall. He’s also written many of the short minisodes used to advertise new releases in Doctor Who: The Collection, and he’s written two episodes of Tales of the TARDIS, both of which reveled in nostalgia. We know McTighe’s style at this point, at least under Chris Chibnall as showrunner. But can we expect that style to change in Davies’s second era? We’ll have to wait and see.
"The TARDIS is my home away from home, so it's been a joy to step back inside, with Russell at the console and the incredible team at Bad Wolf hanging on for dear life."Pete McTighe
Currently, no details have been revealed about what stories we can expect. But knowing that next season will feature more writers than last - and therefore will likely have more variety - is already extremely promising.