THE BBC have confirmed Doctor Who's return date - as the show's future hangs in the balance.
Ncuti Gatwa stars as the Fifteenth - and current - iteration of the titular Doctor.
In the most recent series, viewers watched Ncuti's Doctor and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) board the iconic TARDIS.
The BBC have now confirmed Doctor Who will return on Saturday, April 12 at 6.50pm on BBC One.
However, the show's future is looking rather bleak, with the 2025 Christmas special set to be scrapped for the first time in six years after a plunge in ratings.
The Beeb previously confirmed Ncuti would return as the titular Time Lord, but he is already believed to have filmed his regeneration exit scene — and crew fear the BBC will then axe the show altogether after 62 years.
A source told The Sun: “There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding Doctor Who at the moment and it looks like the beloved Christmas special won’t be happening.
“It seems the ep just wasn’t commissioned. People had no doubt be hoping that next series would be in the bag and that would include the festive edition.
“But things are very much hanging in the balance and bosses don’t even know if Ncuti will be returning – let alone if there is time to bash out a new episode for Christmas Day.”
Typically filmed a year in advance, the Christmas special was expected to be locked into the schedule.
But with the current 26-episode deal — which covered anniversary specials The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder, and The Giggle, plus the 2023 and 2024 festive episodes, two eight-episode series, and five spin-offs — now nearing its end, the show’s future is hanging by a thread.
A source told The Sun: “Ncuti doesn’t want to be tied to the series beyond this and plans to relocate to Los Angeles with several Hollywood projects standing by for him.
“His team also see a lot of fan backlash from the series, and don’t want the perception of him still being The Doctor to get in the way of any future work.
“The show has been poorly managed in recent years and there’s a lot of people who’ve been working on this show for years and now being cast aside due to poor leadership.
“People warned some episodes were getting too caught up on an agenda rather than telling a story and those people got shouted down, ignored.”
Ncuti’s first series, which began last May, attracted between 2.25million and 3.18million viewers — a tiny fraction of what it used to pull in.
The upcoming series will feature a guest appearance from TV presenter Rylan Clark.
Rylan, 36, will play himself hosting an intergalactic version of Eurovision, dubbed the Interstellar Song Contest.
He previously shared on X: "Genuinely never thought in my wildest dreams I’d be able to say I was part of the Whoniverse.
"A full on dream come true. Hope you enjoy x."
He added in a statement: "As a massive Whovian, getting the call to be in Doctor Who was a call I’ve always dreamed of getting.
"The episode is all my favourite things about the show with an added song contest set in space.
"It really is a dream come true. I can’t wait for everyone to see it. It is going to be out of this world."
Other guest stars include Anita Dobson as Mrs Flood, Bonnie Langford as Mel Bush, Jemma Redgrave as UNIT chief Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Ariyon Bakare, who previously played Leandro in the series.
Also joining the cast are Slow Horses star Christopher Chung, Crashing actress Julie Dray, and World on Fire's Jonah Hauer-King.
Doctor Who will return to BBC One on Saturday, April 12.
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