Can RTD Save the BBC?

Russell T Davies is the talented TV maestro tasked with lifting Doctor Who to the standard he once set. More importantly though, he may be the key to ensuring the BBC meets the standards it once set.

Words by Gregor McRae

It was just after tea-time on a Spring 2005 evening when my five-yearold self’s mind was blown. I’d just watched Rose, a regular shop girl from London, being whisked off her feet by a mysterious alien to travel across time and space. Having adventures, battling monsters, saving planets. It was only the first episode of the revived series of Doctor Who, and I was already completely hooked.

Russell T Davies, the man behind the rebooted show, wanted to create event television that whole families would sit down to watch every weekend. Talking from childhood experience, he succeeded. It was the talk of my primary school after each new episode. Later in the week, I’d excitedly discuss the latest instalment with my grandad when he came round for tea. It was one of those rare programmes with a real cross-generational appeal.

Davies had successfully taken a cheesy, cheap, cult sci-fi show from yesteryear and turned it into a cultural phenomenon. It had big ratings and rave reviews, but it was also so much more than that.

He had created a drama with relatable, likeable, flawed, and well-rounded characters that reflected people in modern Britain. Characters firmly rooted in reality, despite the outer space setting. Rose was a young working-class girl from a council estate. Martha was a medical student trying to pass exams while also dealing with family problems. Donna was a gobby but loveable woman trying to find a job during a recession. Real, relatable people.

Through Davies’ writing, the show also taught its often young audience valuable life lessons without being patronising. It was unashamedly antiwar, with the Doctor being written as a pacifist due to the horrors he had witnessed and taken part in previously. The mood of the nation was reflected when the New Labour government of the time and the invasion of Iraq were satirically represented by horrific green farting aliens inhabiting Downing Street that wanted to start an intergalactic war, because of “weapons of mass destruction” that didn’t exist. I’d love to see what creatures Davies would create to represent the current bunch in charge of the UK.

Other episodes during Davies’ tenure in charge of the show addressed topics such as racism, homophobia, bullying, religion, slavery, and sexism. There was open discussion about - and representation of - various sexualities, races, and backgrounds. Quite the feat for a family show in the mid-2000s.

This line from Rose in the season one finale, brilliantly performed by Billie Piper, encapsulates the overall message the show was aiming to get across.

“You don’t just give up. You don’t just let things happen. You make a stand. You say no. You have the guts to do what’s right when everyone else runs away.”

It was recently announced that Davies, or “RTD” as fans affectionately refer to him, will return as show-runner of Doctor Who in 2022, beginning a new era more than a decade after he left. Since his departure, the show has steadily lost viewers.

During his time away, Davies’ reputation has gone from strength to strength. He created the critically acclaimed show Years and Years about an ordinary English family trying to survive a dystopia in the not-too-distant future, as well as the mega hit It’s a Sin, an emotional series loosely based on his experiences as a gay man during the AIDs crisis in the 1980s.

In recent years, the BBC has been constantly looking over its shoulder

at the increasingly right-wing government it is supposed to be independent from, desperately trying to appease it due to fears the license fee, or the corporation itself, could be scrapped.

Ridiculous examples of this in recent years includes bosses telling off presenter Naga Munchetty for sharing her experience of racism, yet refusing to discipline a white reporter who said the N-word uncensored in a report, despite an outcry from prominent black staff members in the BBC.

Staff have also reportedly been warned that a new policy means attending anti-racism demos or Pride marches could land them in hot water - as they could be perceived by license payers (or the government) as left-wing. The BBC is even bringing out a podcast “exposing” Stonewall, the LGBT+ rights charity, for - shock horror - lobbying workplaces to support rights for queer employees. It’s a nasty, transparent attempt at showing the Tories and permanently furious Daily Mail readers that they are not “woke”.

There was even pressure from senior figures in the BBC and the rightwing press to cancel the hiring of experienced journalist Jess Brammar because of years-old social media posts in which she spoke out against racism and made mildly critical comments about the prime minister and Brexit.

There was no such outcry however, over the hiring of Richard Sharp as BBC chairman, a man who has donated almost half a million pounds to the Conservative party. Or Tim Davie, recently appointed Director General of the BBC: a former Tory councillor and head of his local Conservative branch. One of the first things he did when in charge was claim that their comedy shows were unfairly targeting the government for satire, and ordered them to be seen as less left-leaning. Predictably, none of the measures to appease the current government seem to be working. New Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, known for eating kangaroo balls and sheep anus on TV, has questioned whether the BBC will even exist in ten years’ time.

Instead of the BBC cosying up to the Tories and trying to get in their good books, it’s about time they stood up to them and fought back. Perhaps the re-hiring of Davies to look after one of its biggest shows, might, just might, be the first sign of a tentative change of approach from the Beeb.

RTD doesn’t mince his words. He recently called Dorries - a woman who used taxpayer cash to pay her

daughters to work for her - “a big fucking idiot” for saying nepotism was a problem in the BBC. He’s a defender of the corporation. I’d love to see While admitting the BBC is far from perfect, he argues that the license fee is good value, and a subscription model what creatures wanted by some would damage the state broadcaster beyond repair. Davies would Most importantly though, he is a loud and proud voice in support of create to LGBT+ rights and other social issues. In a powerful recent speech when represent the accepting an award, he emotionally voiced support for trans people, a current bunch community currently facing a barrage of hurtful attacks from some politiin charge of cians and media. Thankfully, the BBC did not punish the UK. him for his “controversial” remarks, as they might have done in the past. Instead, they pointed out that he is his own person, entitled to his own views, and isn’t an employee of the BBC. (Technically true as he now works for their commercial arm, BBC Studios). Geeks, such as myself, want Davies to boost the fortunes of our favourite sci-fi show. More broadly though, many will hope his appointment will help usher in an era where the BBC can once again give the government the healthy, democratic dose of scrutiny, satire, and ridicule it needs. Russell T Davies is back to rescue Doctor Who

From left to right

Years & Years (2019), It’s a Sin (2021), Doctor Who (2005) All courtesy of BBC photos