Let’s be real for a second. If you’re a Doctor Who fan, you’ve probably watched The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot more times than some of the actual episodes of the show. It was the perfect storm of self-deprecation, nostalgia, and genuine wit. Released back in 2013 for the 50th Anniversary, it gave us Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy desperately trying to worm their way into the "Day of the Doctor" special. It was brilliant. It was funny. It was, honestly, the best thing to come out of that anniversary year besides the War Doctor.
But then, the questions started. When do we get more? Where is the sequel?
For over a decade, fans have been scouring every convention panel and radio interview for news about a follow-up. We've seen crumbs. We've seen hints. But we've also seen a lot of radio silence. The "reboot" of the Five(ish) Doctors Reboot—essentially a sequel or a spiritual successor—has become one of those "will-they-won't-they" legends in the Whoniverse.
The Peter Davison Dilemma
Peter Davison wrote and directed the original. He’s the architect. Without him, there is no project. For years, Davison has been asked about a sequel, and his answers usually oscillate between "I have an idea" and "It’s too much work."
The thing is, the original worked because of the specific circumstances of the 50th Anniversary. It was a meta-commentary on the classic Doctors being "sidelined" by the modern era. To do a 5ish Doctors Reboot sequel now, the stakes have to change. You can't just play the same "old men shouting at clouds" card again—well, you could, but it might lose its charm.
Davison has mentioned in several interviews, notably at various Gally 1 conventions, that he actually did have a script or at least a very solid outline for a follow-up. The problem? Scheduling. Getting Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy in the same room is one thing. Getting them, along with the laundry list of cameos that made the first one legendary (think Olivia Colman, Peter Jackson, and Steven Moffat), is a logistical nightmare.
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What We Actually Know About the Sequel
It isn't just a rumor. There is concrete evidence that work was done. Back in 2014, just a year after the original, Sylvester McCoy let it slip that "something" was in the works. Then, for the 60th Anniversary in 2023, the hype reached a fever pitch. Fans expected a surprise drop on BBC iPlayer or YouTube.
Instead, we got The Daleks in color and some lovely "Tales of the TARDIS" episodes. While Tales of the TARDIS scratched that itch for classic Doctor interactions, it wasn't the 5ish Doctors Reboot. It lacked the biting satire and the "meta" humor of the actors playing heightened, grumpy versions of themselves.
The most realistic "reboot" we’ve actually seen was the short film produced during the COVID-19 lockdowns. It wasn't a full sequel, but it featured Davison, Baker, and McCoy (and some family members) in a brief, hilarious zoom-style sketch. It proved the chemistry was still there. It proved they still wanted to do it.
Why the 60th Anniversary Missed the Mark
Many people were baffled why the BBC didn't commission a full-blown sequel for the 60th. If you look at the landscape of the show under Russell T Davies’ new era, the focus shifted heavily toward the "Whoniverse" as a global brand under Disney+.
A niche, inside-baseball parody might have felt too "small" for the massive relaunch. Or, perhaps, it was simply a matter of the "Five(ish) Doctors" themselves getting, well, older. Colin Baker has joked that they’d need a much larger budget for mobility scooters this time around.
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The Real Hurdle: The Meta-Narrative
How do you top a movie where you literally broke into the BBC and hid under tables?
The original 5ish Doctors Reboot featured:
- A "missing" Matt Smith.
- John Barrowman hiding his secret family.
- A literal heist of the Doctor Who set.
To make a sequel work in 2026, the story would likely have to revolve around the Disney+ acquisition or the fact that David Tennant keeps coming back while the classic Doctors are left doing Big Finish audio dramas in their spare bedrooms. There is a lot of comedic gold there. But the BBC is notoriously protective of its brand image, especially when huge international money is involved.
What Fans Get Wrong About "The Reboot"
There’s a common misconception that a script was filmed and is sitting in a vault somewhere. That’s almost certainly not true. While Peter Davison has confirmed he wrote a follow-up, he has also been very clear that it was never greenlit by the BBC hierarchy in the same way the first one was.
The first one was a "skunkworks" project. It was cheap. It was a labor of love. Today, the production values of anything "official" associated with Doctor Who have skyrocketed. There’s a fear that a sequel might lose the "homemade" feel that made the original so endearing.
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The Actionable Truth for Fans
If you're waiting for a surprise drop, keep an eye on the official Doctor Who YouTube channel rather than BBC One. The BBC has moved most of its "extra" content to digital platforms.
If you want to see the closest thing we have to a 5ish Doctors spirit right now:
- Watch Tales of the TARDIS on iPlayer/Disney+. It’s the same actors, even if the tone is more nostalgic than funny.
- Follow Georgia Tennant on social media. She was a producer on the original and is often the one who corrals her father (Peter Davison) into these projects.
- Check out the "The Best of Days" short film on YouTube. It's a tiny slice of that meta-humor we're all craving.
The 5ish Doctors reboot isn't dead, but it’s in a sort of production limbo that only a Time Lord could navigate. The interest is there. The actors are willing. The script exists in a drawer somewhere in Surrey. It’s just a matter of the BBC realizing that sometimes, the fans want to laugh at the show as much as they want to cheer for it.
For now, we have the 2013 masterpiece. It's still fresh. It's still the gold standard for how a franchise should celebrate itself by taking the piss out of its own legacy.
Next Steps for the Dedicated Whovian
- Re-watch the original with the commentary track. Peter Davison and Ian Levine provide context that makes the jokes land even harder.
- Track the "Big Finish" BTS videos. A lot of the banter between Baker, Davison, and McCoy in the recording studios is essentially a real-life version of the 5ish Doctors.
- Support the actors at conventions. The more demand they see for "the sequel," the more leverage they have to push the BBC for a small budget to finally film Davison's "lost" script.
Stay tuned to official channels, but don't hold your breath for a 2026 release unless a major anniversary or a sudden gap in the filming schedule opens up. The Doctors are ready; the TARDIS is just waiting for the right coordinates.