Re-generating an icon: BBC’s three-stage launch for the new Doctor Who

Brooke Hemphill

With viewer numbers dropping, BBC sought to make major changes in its three stage re-generation of the Doctor Who brand.

The BBC’s Doctor Who first aired in 1963, and while the franchise has accrued a large and loyal following, in recent years viewership had been dropping off.

In 2017, Chris Chibnall, a longtime Doctor Who fan who had written for the series, took the reins of the program and pitched a bold new direction. Sally de st Croix, Global Franchise Director for Doctor Who at BBC Studios, told the Mumbrella Entertainment Marketing Summit in Sydney: “I remember being in a meeting where they said, ‘Sal, imagine if the show has just gone off-air for five years. It’s been utterly rebooted....

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