Although it hasn't been confirmed who the BBC will be partnering with when Doctor Who returns, it has at least been made known that 2028 is the general target date for the long-running British sci-fi series' comeback. The BBC recently revealed what's being asked of whoever wins the competitive tender process. In short, it's more of the same, which proves the BBC's confidence in Doctor Who's timeless (if you'll pardon the pun) formula.
However, there's been no real information about what the show will look like when it returns. It's all but a given at this point that the off-the-wall Billie Piper twist will be all but ignored, or at least swept under the rug if not retconned entirely. As such, it stands to reason that the show's next era will introduce the actual Sixteenth Doctor and go from there. Exactly how much time will have passed for the franchise's main character hasn't been announced, but a behind-the-scenes reveal suggests the Doctor will have had quite a few adventures that will remain unaccounted for.
Doctor Who's most recent TARDIS set has been dismantled
As reported by Radio Times, the TARDIS that was introduced for David Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor and duplicated for use by Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth is no longer standing. Former producer Jane Tranter has recently shared the news that the set has been dismantled. While it's sad to hear, it's not exactly surprising. The dazzlingly white TARDIS set represents a deeply divisive era in Doctor Who history, one that saw the BBC and Bad Wolf Studios partner with Disney during Russell T Davies' return to the showrunner's chair.
The largely negative response to the Disney era means it's logical to cut ties completely and for Doctor Who to return with all its component parts updated. That includes a new Doctor, a new TARDIS, a new Sonic Screwdriver, and more. Still, the episodes with this recently dismantled TARDIS remain part of the official canon. As such, when the show returns, the time and space machine will still have looked like this inside at some point in its history. The question is, how long will it have been since then?
A new TARDIS interior often means a huge time jump
There are two main reasons the TARDIS' interior gets a makeover. The first is when it's destroyed or damaged, such as when Ten's violent regeneration led to the TARDIS rebuilding itself ahead of the era of Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor. The other reason for a TARDIS overhaul is when the Doctor simply tires of how his craft looks, and he decides to redecorate. One example is when Eleven, who lived for centuries, updated his TARDIS interior during his life, ditching the warm and playful vibe for a darker aesthetic.
That being said, many Doctors live their entire lives without the want or need to redecorate the TARDIS. Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor, for instance, kept Eleven's second interior intact throughout his entire existence. In other words, updating a TARDIS interior isn't made out to be something that's done on a whim. It probably takes a lot of time and energy, which is why it often stays the same for decades or even centuries at a time.
So, considering the TARDIS from the Disney era was only just built, with Fifteen only going on a relative handful of adventures, it stands to reason that it would look the way it does in those episodes for a long time after Gatwa's exit. Therefore, because the BBC has dismantled that set, it's logical to assume that the upcoming redecoration will have only occurred after the Disney TARDIS had been left intact for a very long time within the lore. All of this is to say that I'm convinced the Sixteenth Doctor, whoever is playing the character, will have regenerated long before the show's imminent return, and the TARDIS will also have been long updated off-screen.
A longer in-universe gap is just what Doctor Who needs
2005's Doctor Who revival brought the show back, providing the first live-action, fully canon episodes since the BBC pulled the plug in 1989. As long as it had been for the fans, it was even longer for the Doctor. Russell T Davies brilliantly introduced the concept of the Time War, a concept that happened off-screen after the classic era, transforming the Doctor and his mindset as we knew him. The real-world 16-year gap did Doctor Who a lot of good, but the bigger gulf of missing time in-universe was even more beneficial.
More recently, when the BBC tried to softly reboot Doctor Who ahead of the 60th anniversary in 2023, the new era was a relatively straightforward continuation of the rest of the modern episodes. And yet, it was sometimes treated like it was a suitable jumping-on point. It was, to put it lightly, a little bit of a mess. I'm not saying we need another Time War between now and when Doctor Who returns, but something along those lines is pretty much essential to draw a line between the 2005–2025 era and the imminent comeback run.
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