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He will be replaced by 'Broadchurch' creator Chris Chibnall.
Doctor Who's showrunner is saying farewell.
Steve Moffat will exit the series after season 10 of the cult favorite, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall will takeover as showrunner, the show's official Twitter account announced Friday.
This is the latest departure for the long-running series. Star Jenna Coleman, who played companion Clara to new star Peter Capaldi and alum Matt Smith, left earlier this year and next stars in the ITV miniseries Victoria, centered on the real-life Queen Victoria.
Moffat came aboard Doctor Who in 2005 and has served as showrunner since 2010, at which time he replaced Russell T. Davies. During most of his time as showrunner, Moffat has had to juggle his Doctor Who obligations with his duties on Sherlock, for which he also writes and exec produces. Earlier this year, Moffat was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his work on Doctor Who.
“Feels odd to be talking about leaving when I’m just starting work on the scripts for season 10, but the fact is my timey-wimey is running out," Moffat said in a statement. "While Chris is doing his last run of Broadchurch, I’ll be finishing up on the best job in the universe and keeping the TARDIS warm for him. It took a lot of gin and tonic to talk him into this, but I am beyond delighted that one of the true stars of British Television drama will be taking the Time Lord even further into the future. At the start of season 11, Chris Chibnall will become the new showrunner of Doctor Who. And I will be thrown in a skip.”
The upcoming 10th season of Doctor Who, Moffat's last, will premiere in 2017 with 12 new episodes and will be preceded by a Christmas special later this year.
For his part, Chibnall is no stranger to the world of Doctor Who. His work on the series stems back to 2007 and he also wrote several episodes of Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood. Of late, Chibnall has received widespread acclaim for creating the crime drama Broadchurch, which just wrapped its second season and stars former Doctor Who star David Tennant.
"Doctor Who is the ultimate BBC program: bold, unique, vastly entertaining, and adored all around the world. So it's a privilege and a joy to be the next curator of this funny, scary and emotional family drama. I’ve loved Doctor Who since I was four years old, and I’m relishing the thought of working with the exceptional team at BBC Wales to create new characters, creatures and worlds for the Doctor to explore," Chibnall said. "Steven’s achieved the impossible by continually expanding Doctor Who's creative ambition, while growing its global popularity. He’s been a dazzling and daring showrunner, and hearing his plans and stories for 2017, it’s clear he’ll be going out with a bang. Just to make my life difficult."
Chibnall's first season as showrunner, season 11, is expected to debut sometime in 2018.
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