Doctor Who's Most Iconic Set Has Now Been Torn Down

Doctor Who's iconic TARDIS set has been torn down, as the series' hiatus continues.

The TARDIS was housed at the studios of Bad Wolf, the series' former production company, which is not expected to be involved in the show's future. Indeed, the BBC has now begun casting its net to find a fresh team ready to take Doctor Who forward with fresh ideas.

Still, the removal of the long-standing TARDIS set has come as a sad and slightly surprising moment for fans, and another sign that Doctor Who really is going through a lengthy regeneration all of its own.

The TARDIS interior features in almost episode of Doctor Who, and is frequently where some of the Doctor's key scenes take place. While space at Bad Wolf's studios is limited, the fact that the set had been kept for so long after production on Doctor Who's final season (to date) finished had some fans expecting it to be kept around longer.

After all, the series left the Doctor on a huge cliffhanger (we briefly saw him regenerate into Billie Piper, while standing in front of the TARDIS set) and left David Tennant's 14th Doctor with an identical copy. So, there was some expectation the set would be used again eventually, in order to wrap up either of these plotlines.

But apparently not — and perhaps this is unsurprising. The BBC was forced to admit back in June that its planned Christmas special would no longer take place, and the show put on hiatus instead while a new production partner was found. Earlier this month, the BBC issued a fresh update and said it was planning ambitiously for a Doctor Who return in 2028 or 2029.

The demise of the TARDIS set was confirmed this week via an Instagram post from Bad Wolf's Jane Tranter, who posted a photo of herself alongside some of those who designed and built the set "on the eve of having to take it down." This version of the TARDIS debuted for the show's 60th anniversary specials, filmed in 2022, and was used for both seasons of the show starring Ncuti Gatwa.

The BBC is expected to issue another update on Doctor Who's future next year, when a shortlist of any production companies that have applied to take on the series is whittled down by March 2027.

Image credit: BBC.

via Doctor Who's Most Iconic Set Has Now Been Torn Down
by Tom Phillips