Russell T Davies | |
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.png) Davies in 2024 | |
| Born | Stephen Russell Davies (1963-04-27)27 April 1963 (age 62) Swansea, Wales |
| Alma mater | Worcester College, Oxford |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1986–present |
| Spouse | |
Stephen Russell Davies (/ˈdeɪvɪs/DAY-vis; born 27 April 1963), known professionally asRussell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for being the originalshowrunner andhead writer of the revival of theBBC sci-fi seriesDoctor Who, from 2005 to 2010 and again since 2023.[1] His other notable works include creating the seriesQueer as Folk (1999–2000),Bob & Rose (2001),The Second Coming (2003),Casanova (2005),Doctor Who spin-offsTorchwood (2006–2011),The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011), andThe War Between the Land and the Sea (2025),Cucumber (2015),A Very English Scandal (2018),Years and Years (2019),It's a Sin (2021) andNolly (2023).
Born inSwansea, Davies had aspirations as acomic artist before focusing on being a playwright and screenwriter. After graduating fromOxford University, he joined the BBC's children's department,CBBC, in 1985 on a part-time basis and held various positions, which included creating two series,Dark Season andCentury Falls. He eventually left the BBC forGranada Television, and in 1994 began writing adult television drama. His early scripts generally explored concepts of religion and sexuality among various backdrops:Revelations was a soap opera about organised religion and featured a lesbian vicar;Springhill was a soap drama about a Catholic family in contemporaryLiverpool;The Grand explored society's opinion of subjects such as prostitution, abortion and homosexuality during theinterwar period; andQueer as Folk recreated his experiences in theManchester gay scene. His work in the 2000s includedBob & Rose, which portrayed a gay man who fell in love with a woman;The Second Coming, which focused on thesecond coming anddeicide ofJesus Christ from a mostly non-religious point of view;Mine All Mine, a comedy about a family who discover they own the entire city of Swansea; and his return to the BBC withBBC Three'sCasanova (produced concurrently with theDoctor Who revival but broadcast first), an adaptation ofthe complete memoirs of Venetian adventurerGiacomo Casanova.
Following the show's sixteen-year hiatus, Davies revived and ranDoctor Who for the period between 2005 and 2010, withChristopher Eccleston and laterDavid Tennant starring asthe Doctor. Davies's tenure as executive producer of the show saw a surge in popularity which led to the production of two spin-off series,Torchwood andThe Sarah Jane Adventures, and the revival of Saturday prime-time dramas as a profitable venture for production companies. Davies was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire in 2008 for services to drama, which coincided with the announcement he would step down fromDoctor Who as the show's executive producer with his final script, "The End of Time" (2009–2010). Davies moved to Los Angeles in 2009, where he oversaw production ofTorchwood: Miracle Day and the fifth and final series ofThe Sarah Jane Adventures. After his partner developed cancer in late 2011, Davies returned to the UK. In September 2021, shortly before the filming ofChris Chibnall's era had wrapped, Davies was announced as returningDoctor Who showrunner; the first episodes of his second tenure are the show'ssixtieth anniversary specials in 2023, with Tennant leading in the specials, andNcuti Gatwa becoming the new Doctor from December 2023 to May 2025. Davies's second tenure included production of another spin-off show he created calledThe War Between the Land and the Sea.
In the 2010s Davies co-created the CBBC science fantasy dramaWizards vs Aliens, and createdCucumber, aChannel 4 series about middle-agedgay men in the Manchester gay scene;Banana, anE4 series about young LGBT people in theCucumber universe; andTofu, anAll 4 documentary series which discussed LGBT issues. Davies's later work for BBC One in the 2010s include a television film adaptation ofWilliam Shakespeare'sA Midsummer Night's Dream;A Very English Scandal, a miniseries adaptation of the 2016 novelA Very English Scandal; andYears and Years, a drama series which follows a Manchester family affected by political, economic, and technological changes to Britain over 15 years. Davies returned to Channel 4 for a third time in 2021 as creator ofIt's a Sin, a semi-autobiographical drama about theHIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s. Later in the 2020s he worked with formerRed Production Company owner and longtime collaboratorNicola Shindler at Shindler's Quay Street Productions company onITV'sNolly, a biographical miniseries aboutCrossroads soap opera starNoele Gordon, and Channel 4'sTip Toe, a miniseries about two Manchester gay men facing ananti-LGBTQ+culture war in the 2020s.
Stephen Russell Davies was born on 27 April 1963 at Mount Pleasant Hospital inSwansea. His father, Vivian Davies, and his mother, Barbara, were teachers. Davies was the youngest of three children and their only son. Because he was born bycaesarean section, his mother was placed on a morphine drip and was institutionalised after an overdose resulted in apsychotic episode.[2] He described his mother's experience as "literally ... like science fiction" and an early inspiration for his writing career.[2] As a child, Davies was almost always referred to by his middle name.[2] He grew up in a household that "never switched the TV off" until afterclosedown, and he subsequently became immersed in dramas such asI, Claudius andDoctor Who. One of his first memories, at the age of three, was the 1966Doctor Who serialThe Tenth Planet. He was also an avid cartoonist and comics enthusiast, and purchased series such asAsterix andPeanuts.[3]
Davies attended Tycoch Primary School inSketty and enrolled atOlchfa School aged 11. In his first year, the main school buildings were closed for rebuilding after inspectors discovered the high alumina cement used in construction had caused other public buildings to collapse. Lessons were instead held in portable buildings, which influenced Davies's imagination to create mystery, science-fiction, and conspiracy thriller stories about the main building. He also immersed himself in books such asSons and Lovers byD. H. Lawrence andThe Crystal Mouse byBabs Hodges Deal; the latter influenced him so much he could "see it echoing in anything" he wrote.[4] At age 14, he auditioned for and joined the newly formedWest Glamorgan Youth Theatre Company (WGYTC). The group's founder and director, Godfrey Evans, considered him to be "a total all-rounder" who was talented and popular with the other students. Working with the group allowed him to define his sexual identity, and he embarked on a several-month relationship with fellow youth actor Rhian Morgan. He latercame out as homosexual in his teenage years.[5]
In 1979, Davies completed hisO-Levels and stayed at Olchfa with the ambition to study English literature at theUniversity of Oxford; he abandoned his aspirations of becoming a comic artist after a careers advisor convinced him that hiscolour-blindness would make that path unlikely.[5] During his studies, he participated in the WGYTC's assignments to createWelsh language drama to be performed at theNational Eisteddfod of Wales; two such productions werePair Dadeni, a play based on theMabinogion myth cycle, andPerthyn, a drama about community belonging and identity in early-1980s West Glamorgan. In 1981, he was accepted byWorcester College, Oxford to study English literature. At Oxford, he realised he was enamoured with the narrative aspect of fiction, especially 19th-century literature such asCharles Dickens.[6]
Davies continued to submit scripts to the WGYT during his studies at Oxford, includingBox, a play about the influence of television which Evans noted contained Davies's penchants for misdirecting the audience and mixing comedy and drama;In Her Element, which centred on the animation of still objects; andHothouse, anAlan Bennett-inspired piece about internal politics in an advertising office. In 1984, he made his final performance for the WGYT and signed up for a course in Theatre Studies atCardiff University after he graduated from Oxford.[7] He worked sporadically for theSherman Theatre's publicity department and claimedunemployment benefit in the interim. In 1985, Davies began his professional television career after a friend suggested he should talk to a television producer who was seeking a temporary graphic artist for the children's showWhy Don't You?.[8]
Davies was taken as a member of theBBC Wales children's department (CBBC) in 1985 and given one-day contracts and commissions, such as illustrating forWhy Don't You?. As he was only given three days of work per month by the BBC, he continued to freelance and volunteer for the Sherman Theatre. In 1986, he was approached by theSunday Sport before its launch to provide afootball-themed daily strip; he declined because he was concerned about the pornographic content of the newspaper. He submitted a script forCrossroads in response to an appeal for new writers; it was not used because the show was cancelled in 1987. He ultimately abandoned his graphic art career entirely when he realised in his early twenties that he enjoyed writing the dialogue of a comic more than creating the art.[9]
On 1 June 1987, Davies made his first and only appearance as a television presenter onPlay School alongside regular presenterChloe Ashcroft.Why Don't You? line producer Peter Charlton suggested that he would "be good on camera" and advised him to take his career public. Davies was granted the opportunity for sporadic appearances over a period of six months; he hosted only one episode as a storytelling illustrator before he walked off the set and commented he was "not doing that again". The appearance remains an in-joke in the industry, and the recordings were invariably requested forwrap parties Davies attended.[10]
OnWhy Don't You?, Davies held various jobs including: researcher, director, illustrator, assistant floor manager and unofficial publicist for fan-mail. He was offered his first professional scriptwriting job in 1986 by producer Dave Evans; he had entered Evans's office to collect his wages and was offered an extra £100 to write a replacement script. Davies's script was positively received by the CBBC and led to increasingly larger roles which culminated in a six-month contract to write for the show after it relocated to Manchester in 1988.[11] He worked for the show for two more years and became the show's producer. He oversaw an increase in drama which tripled its audience—despite the fact BBC Manchester was not permitted by the corporation to create children's dramas—which reached its climax with his last episode: a drama where theWhy Don't You? protagonists, led by the show's longest running presenterBen Slade, were trapped in a café by a supercomputer which tried to kill them.[12]
While producingWhy Don't You?, Davies branched out within CBBC atBBC Manchester: he attended directors' courses; wrote for older audiences with his contributions toDEF II andOn the Waterfront; and accompaniedKeith Chegwin to Norway to assist in the production of a children's documentary about politics. The head of CBBC, Ed Pugh, offered him the chance to produceBreakfast Serials, a new series scheduled for an 8:00 am slot.Breakfast Serials incorporated elements ofnon-sequitur comedy and popular culture references aimed at older children, such as a parody ofLand of the Giants.[13] He decided to leave CBBC during the production ofBreakfast Serials: a friend called him after the first episode was transmitted and observed he had "broadcast a joke about the juvenilia ofEmily Brontë at eight o'clock in the morning"; the conversation caused him to reflect he was writing for the wrong audience.[14] Davies worked as a writer on three more children's series while he pursued an adult drama career, creatingDark Season andCentury Falls, and writing forChildren's Ward.
During his tenure onWhy Don't You?, Davies oversaw the production of a story that took place inLoch Ness. The story was the precursor for his first freelance children's project:Dark Season. The show, originally calledThe Adventuresome Three, would feature theWhy Don't You? characters in a purely dramatic setting influenced by his childhood. He submitted the script to the head of CBBC,Anna Home, andGranada Television. Both companies were interested in producing the show with minor changes: Granada wished to produce it as one six-part serial, as opposed to Davies's plan of two three-part serials; and Home was interested in accepting the show on the condition it included a new cast of characters. He accepted Home's offer, and the show was allocated the budget and timeslot ofMaid Marian and her Merry Men, which had been put on hiatus the year before.[16]
The first three episodes ofDark Season feature three young teenagers in a contemporary secondary school, Reet (Kate Winslet), Marcie (Victoria Lambert), and Tom (Ben Chandler), who discover a plot by the villain Mr Eldritch (Grant Parsons) to take over the world using school computers. Eldritch is eventually defeated by Marcie and the computer expert Professor Polzinsky (Rosalie Crutchley). The next three episodes focus on a new villain: the archaeologist Miss Pendragon (Jacqueline Pearce), later described by Davies as a "devil worshippingNazi lesbian",[17] who becomes a part of the ancient supercomputer Behemoth. The two distinct plot elements converge at the end of the fifth episode, when Pendragon crashes through the school stage as Eldritch walks into the auditorium.[15]
Dark Season uses concepts seen in his tenure as executive producer ofDoctor Who: "School Reunion", written byToby Whithouse, shares its concept of the antagonist using computers in a comprehensive school to take over the world; "Army of Ghosts" unexpectedly brings together the series' two major villains for the final episode; and the characters of Marcie and her friends are similar, albeit unintentionally, to the structure ofthe Doctor and theircompanions.[15]Dark Season was the first series he was credited as "Russell T Davies"—the initial arbitrarily chosen to distinguish himself fromthe BBC Radio 4 presenter—and the first series he was commissioned to write a novelisation: it features a more ambiguous climax and foreshadows a sequel set in an arcade similar to the one featured inThe Sarah Jane Adventures serial,Warriors of Kudlak.[18]
Davies started planning a second series forDark Season, which followed a similar structure. The first half of the series would take part in the arcade mentioned in the novelisation, and the second would feature the appearance of psychic twins and the re-emergence of the villain Eldritch. The concepts were transferred to its spiritual successor,Century Falls, which was produced in 1993 at the request ofDark Season directorColin Cant. The series primarily used the "psychic twins" concept and was set in an isolated village based on those in theYorkshire Dales and theNorth York Moors.[19]
The plot ofCentury Falls is driven by a legend that no children had been born in the eponymous village for more than forty years. The protagonist, Tess Hunter (Catherine Sanderson), is an overweight teenager who moves to the village with her mother at the beginning of the serial. She quickly befriends the psychic Ben Naismith (Simon Fenton) and his twin sister Carey (Emma Jane Lavin). The three teenagers examine the waterfall that gave Ben his powers and the disaster which caused the legendary infertility. The serial climaxes in a confrontation between Tess and the deity Century, who is attempting to fuse with Tess's unborn sister.[19]
Century Falls is conceptually much darker than its predecessorDark Season and his later work, which Davies attributed to a trend that inexperienced writers "get off on the dark stuff":[20] In aBAFTA interview with Davies, Home recalled she "very nearly got into trouble because it did actually push at the boundaries which some of the powers-that-be would rather not have been pushed". The series offered a sense of realism in its protagonist, who is not heroic and aspirational, has poor social skills, and is bluntly described by Ben as a "fat girl".[17]Century Falls was the last script he wrote for CBBC for fourteen years. He had begun to formulate another successor:The Heat of the Sun, a series set over Christmas 1999 and New Year's Day 2000 that would have included the concepts of psychic powers and world domination.[21]
While he was writingDark Season andCentury Falls, Davies sought freelance projects elsewhere; these included three scripts for the BBC children's comedyChuckleVision. One venture in 1991 led him toGranada Television, where he edited scripts for the ITV children's medical dramaChildren's Ward under the supervision of eventualCoronation Street producer Tony Wood and his former boss Ed Pugh. By 1992, he had been promoted to producer and oversaw an increase in discussion of larger contemporary issues. In 1993, he wrote a script about a teenage boy who had been infected with HIV via a blood transfusion, which challenged the prevalent assumption only gay people contracted HIV:[22]
- Jason Lloyd
- You must be apoof if you've got AIDS.
- Richard Higgs
- I'm not gay, and I haven't got AIDS; I'm HIV positive. But just for the sake of an argument let's say I was homosexual. Would it matter? What difference would it make?
- Jason
- [You'd] fancy me, wouldn't you?
- Richard
- There's not a boy, girl, man, or woman alive who could possibly fancy you. Look around. Where's this queue of people dying to ask you out? They don't exist, Jason, because you're stupid, you're bigoted, and you don't matter one little bit.
— Children's Ward, written by Russell T Davies, 1993[23]
Davies left the role of producer in 1994, but continued to write occasionally for the series. Notably, he was requested to write the 100th episode of the series, by then calledThe Ward, which aired in October 1996. Instead of celebrating the milestone, he wrote a script about a recently emerging threat: paedophiles in online chat-rooms. The episode was about anX-Files fan who was drawn in by a paedophile's offer of a rare magazine. In thedénouement of the episode, the child recounts the tale of his near abduction and describes his attacker as "just a man like any other man". The episode earned Davies his first Children's BAFTA award for Best Drama.[22]
During his production tenure onChildren's Ward, Davies continued to seek other freelance writing jobs, particularly for soap operas; his intention was to eventually work on the popular and long-running Granada soapCoronation Street. In pursuit of this career plan, he storylined soaps such asFamilies and wrote scripts for shows such asCluedo,[24] a game show based on the board gameCluedo, andDo the Right Thing, a localised version of the Brazilian panel showVocê Decide withTerry Wogan as presenter andFrank Skinner as a regular panellist. One writing job, forThe House of Windsor, a soap opera about footmen inBuckingham Palace, was so poorly received his other scripts for the show would be written under the pseudonym Leo Vaughn.[25]
In 1994, Davies relinquished all of his producing jobs, and was offered a scriptwriting role on the late-night soap operaRevelations, created by him,Tony Wood, andBrian B. Thompson. The series was a tongue-in-cheek deconstruction of organised religion, and featured his first overtly homosexual character: a lesbian vicar portrayed bySue Holderness, who came out of the closet in atwo-hander episode with Carole Nimmons.[26]
Davies attributes the revelation about Holderness's character as a consequence of both the "pressure cooker nature" of the show and the recentordination of female vicars in the Church of England.[26] He let his contract with Granada expire and pitched a new early-evening soap opera toChannel 4,RU, with its creator Bill Moffat, Sandra Hastie, a producer on Moffat's previous seriesPress Gang, and co-writerPaul Cornell. Although the slot was eventually taken byHollyoaks, he and Cornell mutually benefited from the pitch: Davies introduced Cornell to theChildren's Ward producers and established contact with Moffat's sonSteven, and Cornell introduced Davies toVirgin Publishing. Davies wrote oneDoctor WhoVirgin New Adventures novel,Damaged Goods, in whichthe Doctor tracks aClass A drug tainted byTime Lord technology across several galaxies. The book includes several themes which Davies would intersperse in his later works—including a family called "Tyler" and companionChris Cwej participating in casual homosexual sex—[27] and a subplot formed the inspiration forThe Mother War, a proposed but never produced thriller for Granada about a woman, Eva Jericho, and acalcified foetus in her uterus.[28]
Davies continued to propose dramas to Channel 4. The next drama to be commissioned wasSpringhill, anapocalyptic soap-opera, co-created byFrank Cottrell Boyce andPaul Abbott, which aired simultaneously onSky One and Channel 4 in 1996–97. Set in suburban Liverpool, the series focuses on the devoutlyCatholic Freeman family and their encounter and conflict with Eva Morrigan (Katharine Rogers).[29] He storylined for the second series, but submitted fewer scripts; Granada had commissioned him to write for their soapThe Grand, temporarily storyline forCoronation Street, and write the straight-to-video special,Coronation Street: Viva Las Vegas!.[30] The second series ofSpringhill continued his penchant for symbolism; in particular, it depicted Marion Freeman (Judy Holt) and Eva as personifications of good and evil, and climaxed with a finale set in an ultra-liberal dystopian future where premarital sex and homosexuality are embraced by the Church.[31] Boyce later commented that without Davies's input, the show would have been a "dry run" for Abbott's hit showShameless.[32]
Davies's next project wasThe Grand, aperiod soap drama set in a Manchester hotel during theinterwar period. It was designed to be a valuable show in a ratings war with the BBC and was scheduled at 9 pm on a Friday night. After the original writer abandoned the series, Granada approached him to write the entire show.[33] His scripts for the first series reflect the pessimism of the period; each episode added its own emotional trauma on the staff; these included a soldier's execution for desertion, a destitute maid who threatened to illegally abort her unborn child to survive, and a multi-episode about the chambermaid, Monica Jones (Jane Danson), who kills her rapist in self-defence, is arrested, and eventually hanged for murder.[34] The show was renewed for a second series despite the first's dark tone.[35]
The second series had a lighter tone and greater emphasis on character development, which Davies attributed to his friend Sally, who had previously warned him of the adult humour inBreakfast Serials; she told him his show was too bleak to be compared to real life. He highlighted the sixth and eighth episodes of the second series as a time of maturity as a writer: for the sixth, he utilised then-unconventional narrative devices such asflashbacks to explore the hotel barman's closeted homosexuality and the societal attitudes towards sexuality in the 1920s;[36] and he highlighted the eighth as when he allowed the series to "take on its own life" by deliberately inserting plot devices such asMcGuffins to enhance the comic relief of the series.[37]
Although well received, the series' ratings were not high enough to warrant a third series. After its cancellation in September 1997, Davies had anexistential crisis after almost dying from an accidental overdose; the experience persuaded him to detoxify and make a name for himself by producing a series which celebrated his homosexuality.[38]
After his near-death experience, Davies started to develop a series for Channel 4 which reflected the "hedonistic lifestyle" of the gay quarter of Manchester he was leaving behind. Encouraged by ex-Granada executives Catriona MacKenzie and Gub Neil to "go gay", the series focused on a group of friends in Manchester's gay scene, tentatively titledThe Other End of the Ballroom, and later,Queer as Fuck.[39]
By February 1998, when he completed the first draft for the series première, the series was known under its eventual titleQueer as Folk.[39] The series emulates dramas such asBand of Gold in presenting realistic discussion on sexuality, as opposed to "one-sided" gay characters in soap operas such asEastEnders, and eschews "heavy-handed discussion" of issues such as HIV; the show instead focuses on the party scene onCanal Street.[40]
After he wrote the pilot, he approached actors for the main characters.[41]Christopher Eccleston was Davies's first choice for the role of Stuart Jones; Eccleston declined because of his age and suggested his friendAidan Gillen instead.[42] The roles of Vince Tyler and Nathan Maloney were given toCraig Kelly andCharlie Hunnam, and the secondary character Alexander Perry, originally written for the television producerPhil Collinson during his brief acting career, was portrayed byAntony Cotton, who later played the gay characterSean Tully inCoronation Street.[42] The series was allocated a £3 million budget, and was produced byRed Productions, then owned by his friend and former colleagueNicola Shindler,[a] and filmed by directorCharles McDougall and Sarah Hardin on location in Manchester.[45] The eight 40-minute episodes emulated experiences from his social life and includes an episode where the minor character Phil Delaney (Jason Merrells) dies of a cocaine overdose, unnoticed by his social circle.[46]
The series was aired in early 1999, whenParliament were discussingLGBT equality; the series première aired on the day the House of Lords was discussing theSexual Offences Bill 1999, which eventually reduced theage of consent for homosexual couples to 16.[47] The première was controversial, in particular because it depicted the character Nathan, aged 15, in sexual intercourse with an older man; the broadcasting watchdogOfcom received 136 complaints and the series received criticism from Hunnam's parents and from activistMary Whitehouse.[48][49] The controversy was amplified when the sponsorBeck's withdrew after several episodes and homosexual activists complained the series was not representative of gay culture. Nevertheless, the show garnered 3.5 million viewers per episode and a generally positive reaction from fans, and was renewed for a two-episode special due for the following year.[50]
Queer as Folk 2 was broadcast in 2000 and was driven by the plot element of Vince's half-sister's wedding. The specials place emphasis on Vince and Stuart's relationship, and ends with their departure for another gay scene in a pastiche ofGrease, as Nathan took the role as the leader of the Manchester scene's next generation.[51] The show ended on 22 February 2000.[52] On the heels of the special, Davies pitched the spin-offMisfits, a late-night soap opera set in aboarding house owned by Vince's mother, Hazel,[53] andThe Second Coming, a series which depicted theSecond Coming of Christ in contemporary Manchester.[54]Misfits was rejected in December 2000 andThe Second Coming was initially approved by Channel 4 but later rejected after a change of executive personnel. Instead of contesting the cancellation ofThe Second Coming, he left Channel 4 and vowed to not work with them again.[55]
Shindler continued to pitchThe Second Coming to other television networks while Davies sought other ventures. His next series was based on a gay friend who married a woman and fathered a child. He saw the relationship as a promising concept for an unconventional love story and asked the couple about their relationship to develop the show.[56] After he developed the series around the prejudice he and his gay friends had shown, he realised he wascreating caricatures for the purpose of exposing them, and instead focused on telling a traditional love story and gave the couple the traditionally British names of Bob Gossage and Rose Cooper.[57]
To simulate a classic love story, the plot required antagonists, in the form of Bob's best friend and fellow teacher Holly Vance and Rose's boyfriend Andy Lewis (Daniel Ryan). While Andy, named after Davies's boyfriend Andrew Smith, was a minor character and departed in the third episode, Holly featured throughout the entirety of the series.[57]Bob & Rose thus followed a similar format toQueer as Folk, in particular, the triumvirate of main characters composed of a couple and an outsider who lived in contemporary Manchester, and inverted the traditional "coming out" story by focusing on Bob's uncharacteristic attraction to Rose; Bob describes his sexual life by simply speaking the line "I fancy men. And her."[57] The series was similar to theKevin Smith filmChasing Amy (1997), as they both portrayed a romance between a straight character and gay character and the resulting ostracism from the couple's social circles, much likeThe Second Coming shared its concept with Smith's 1999 filmDogma.[58]
LikeQueer as Folk,Bob & Rose contributed to the contemporary political debate around LGBT rights: a subplot involves the fictional pressure groupParents Against Homophobia (PAH), led by Bob's mother Monica (Penelope Wilton), an ardent gay rights activist, and their campaign to repealSection 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, which prohibited local authorities from "intentionally promot[ing]" homosexuality.[59] The subplot climaxes in the fourth episode, when Monica and Bob lead a rally into direct action by handcuffing themselves to a bus run by a company whose management donated millions to keeping the law on the books;[59][60] the scene directly parallels protests against the transport companyStagecoach due to their founderBrian Souter's financial and political support of Section 28—at one point, Davies intended to explicitly name Stagecoach in the script—[60] and is inspired by earlier protests undertaken by the LGBT rights pressure groupOutRage!.[59]
After successfully pitching the show toITV, Red Productions joined Davies in casting the show and initially approachedJonathan Creek starAlan Davies to portray Bob.[61] Although he was not gay, Davies accepted the role and spent several weeks researching first-hand Manchester's gay scene with series directorJoe Wright. His only objection to the role was Bob being a fan ofManchester United F.C., the team Shindler had named Red Productions for, because of his prolific support ofArsenal F.C. The part of Rose was given toLesley Sharp, her first leading role after her portrayal of secondary characters in past Red showsPlaying the Field andClocking Off, andJessica Stevenson was cast as Holly by ITV Head of Drama Nick Elliott on the basis of her performance in the Channel 4 comedySpaced.[61]
The series was filmed in the southern suburbs of Manchester between March and June 2001 and often used Davies's own home as agreen room. At the time, the series was the only Red–Davies collaboration not to be scored by futureDoctor Who composerMurray Gold;[b][62] the soundtrack was aMartin Phipps composition inspired byHans Zimmer's work on the 1993 filmTrue Romance.[63] It aired on Monday nights in September and October 2001.[63] Critically acclaimed, the series won twoBritish Comedy Awards, and received a nomination at theBritish Academy Television Awards. However, the series had lower viewership than expected and was moved to a later timeslot for the final two episodes.[64] Although the series was not as successful as he hoped, the show helped Davies rekindle his relationship with his mother shortly before her death, just after the transmission of the fourth episode, which he sees as "possibly the best thing [he has] ever written".[64]
Shortly after the transmission ofBob & Rose, Davies was approached by Abbott to write for his new BBC showLinda Green. He accepted the offer and wrote an episode where the titular character (Liza Tarbuck) and her friends attend a schoolmate's funeral and become psychologically haunted by the deceased woman's solitary life. His first work for the BBC in eight years prompted them to approach him with additional concepts for period dramas, which he invariably declined as his sole intent was to reviveDoctor Who, which had then been on hiatus for over a decade.[65]
In 2002, he met with the BBC to discuss the revival of the show and producingThe Second Coming; the BBC were unable to commit to either, and he again declined to work for them.[65] After the BBC rejectedThe Second Coming, Shindler proposed the series should be pitched to ITV. Despite the story's controversial message, the critical success ofBob & Rose encouraged the channel to commission the series for broadcast.[65]
The Second Coming had been several years in the making and endured many rewrites from the first draft presented to Channel 4 in 2000, but retained its key concept of a depiction of theSecond Coming of Christ with a humanity-centred deity.[55][66] A major removal from the script, due to time constraints, was a long sequence titled "Night of the Demons": the main character, a shop assistant, Stephen Baxter, who discovers his divine lineage, takes over a hotel with his disciples and eventually encounters several of the hotel's employees which had beenpossessed by the Devil. Several similar sequences were removed to create athriller set in the days beforeJudgement Day.[67]
An experienced actor was required to portray Stephen; Davies approachedChristopher Eccleston, who had previously been approached for the role of Stuart inQueer as Folk, based on his performance as Nicky Hutchinson in the dramaOur Friends in the North.[68] Eccleston accepted the role and helped Davies make the character more human after he observed "Baxter was getting lost amid his loftier pronouncements". The character of Judith, who would represent the fall of God, was given to Lesley Sharp after her performance inBob & Rose, and the role of the Devil was given toMark Benton.[68]
The Second Coming was controversial from its conception. When it was a Channel 4 project, it was the subject of aSunday Express article a year before its original projected transmission date of late 2001.[69] The series would again receive criticism when it was rumoured it would be broadcast over the Easter weekend of 2003.[70] The series was eventually broadcast over consecutive nights on 9–10 February 2003 to 6.3 million and 5.4 million viewers, respectively, and received mixed reactions from the audience: Davies reportedly received death threats for its atheistic message and criticism for its anticlimactic ending, as well as two nominations for Television Awards and one for aRoyal Television Society Programme Award.[70]
In the time near his mother's death, Davies returned to Swansea several times and reflected on the role of family. During one visit, he realised he had not yet written a series set in Wales; hence, he created a series about a family who discovers they own the entire city of Swansea.[71]The Vivaldi Inheritance, later renamedMine All Mine, was based on the tale of the Welsh pirateRobert Edwards and his descendants' claim to 77 acres (310,000 m2) of real estate inLower Manhattan, New York City. The series was a departure from his trend of experimental social commentary; it was instead designed to be a mainstream comedy which used Welsh actors: Davies and Red Productions even planned a cameo appearance byAcademy Award-winning Swansea-bornCatherine Zeta-Jones.[71]
Because the series was centred on an entire family, Red Productions was given the task of casting eleven principal characters:[72] the role of family patriarch Max Vivaldi was given toGriff Rhys Jones, at the request of ITV for prolific actors;[72] Rhian Morgan, Davies's ex-girlfriend from the WGYT, was cast as Max's wife Val;[72]Sharon Morgan as Max's sister Stella;[72]Joanna Page as Candy Vivaldi;[72] Matthew Barry andSiwan Morris as the Vivaldi siblings Leo and Maria;[72]Hi-de-Hi! actressRuth Madoc as Val's sister Myrtle Jones;[72] andJason Hughes as Maria's boyfriend Gethin.[72] The series, specifically the family's composition of two daughters and a gay son, mirrored his own upbringing to the point where Davies and his boyfriend referred to the show as "The Private Joke".[73]
The series was originally written in six parts, but Davies excised a large portion of the fifth episode because the crew expressed concerns with its pacing. The series was filmed in late 2003 under the direction ofSheree Folkson and Tim Whitby, and used many areas of Swansea which Davies was familiar with since his childhood. It aired as four-hour-long episodes and a ninety-minute finale on Thursday nights preceding Christmas 2003.[74] Eventually,Mine All Mine would be his least successful series and ended its run with just over two million viewers, which he later blamed on the series' high eccentricity.[74]
Shortly after the transmission ofMine All Mine, the BBC commissioned Davies to produce the revival ofDoctor Who, which completed his decade-long quest to return the series to the airwaves.[75] At the time, he was developing two scripts: the first, a cinematic adaptation of theCharles IngramWho Wants to Be a Millionaire? scandal, was cancelled after he accepted theDoctor Who job;[76] and the second, a dramatisation of the life of the Venetian adventurer and loverGiacomo Casanova, was his next show with Red Productions.[77]
Davies's association withCasanova began whenLondon Weekend Television producersJulie Gardner, Michele Buck, andDamien Timmer approached him to write a 21st-century adaptation ofCasanova's memoirs.[77] He accepted to script the series because it was "the best subject in the world" and, after reading the memoirs, sought to create a realistic depiction of Casanova instead of further perpetuating the stereotype of a hypersexual lover. The series was originally written for ITV, but was turned down after he could not agree on the length of the serial. Shortly after ITV declined to produceCasanova, Gardner took up a position as Head of Drama atBBC Wales and brought the concept with her. The BBC agreed to fund the series, but could only release the money required if a regionally based independent company produced the series. Davies turned to Shindler, who agreed to become the serial's fifth executive producer.[77]
Davies's script takes place in two distinct time frames and required two different actors for the eponymous role: the older Casanova was portrayed byPeter O'Toole, and the younger Casanova was portrayed byDavid Tennant.[78] The serial takes place primarily during Casanova's early adulthood and depicts his life among three women: his mother (Dervla Kirwan), his lover Henriette (Laura Fraser), and his consort Bellino (Nina Sosanya). The script takes a different approach toDennis Potter's 1971 dramatisation; instead of Potter's focus on sex and misogyny, the 2005 serial focuses on Casanova's compassion and respect for women.[78]
Casanova was filmed alongside the first few episodes of the new series ofDoctor Who, which meant producers common to both projects, including Davies and Gardner, made daily journeys between the former's production inLancashire andCheshire and the latter's production in Cardiff.[79] Red Productions also filmed on location overseas in a stately home inDubrovnik, and alongside production ofthe identically titled 2005 Lasse Hallström film in Venice.[78] The two production teams shared resources and were given the unofficial names of "Little Casanova" and "Big Casanova" respectively.[78] When it premièred onBBC Three in March 2005, the first episode attracted 940,000 viewers, a record for a first-run drama on the channel, but was overshadowed onBBC One by the return ofDoctor Who in the same month.[79]
Since watching theFirst Doctor's (William Hartnell)regeneration into theSecond Doctor (Patrick Troughton) at the end of the 1966 serialThe Tenth Planet, Davies had "fallen in love" with the show and, by the mid-1970s, he was regularly writing reviews of broadcast serials in his diary. His favourite writer and childhood hero wasRobert Holmes; during his career, he has complimented the creative use of BBC studios to create "terror and claustrophobia" for Holmes's 1975 scriptThe Ark in Space—his favourite serial from the original series—and has opined that the first episode ofThe Talons of Weng-Chiang (1977) featured "the best dialogue ever written; it's up there withDennis Potter".[80] His screenwriting career also began with aDoctor Who submission, aspec script which he claimed was rejected by script editorAndrew Cartmel (1987–89), whom suggested that he should write a more prosaic story about "a man who is worried about his mortgage, his marriage, [and] his dog".[80] He initially claimed the script was similar to what was transmitted as "The Long Game" in 2005.[81] In 2020 he tweeted that he was mistaken, sharing photographs of a spec script from 1986 calledMind of the Hodiac.[82][83]
During the late 1990s, Davies lobbied the BBC to revive the show from its hiatus and reached the discussion stages in late 1998 and early 2002.[84] His proposals would update the show to be better suited for a 21st-century audience: the series would be recorded on film instead of videotape; the length of each episode would double from twenty-five minutes to fifty; episodes would primarily take place on Earth, in the style of theThird Doctor (Jon Pertwee)UNIT episodes; and Davies would remove "excess baggage" from the mythology such asGallifrey and theTime Lords. Davies's pitch competed againstDan Freedman's proposed retool as a fantasy series,Matthew Graham'sgothic horror-styled reboot, and theMark Gatiss—Gareth Roberts—Clayton Hickman pitch which made the Doctor theaudience surrogate character, instead of hiscompanions.[85] Davies also took cues from American fantasy television series such asBuffy the Vampire Slayer andSmallville, most notablyBuffy's concepts of series-longstory arcs and the "Big Bad".[86] Ultimately, with the exception of select shots including a slow-motion martial arts sequence,[87]Doctor Who was not filmed on 16mm or 35mm film, and initially Davies's revival was shot on DigitalBetacam.[88]
In August 2003, the BBC had resolved the legal confusion over production rights which had surfaced as a result of the jointly producedUniversal Studios–BBC–20th Century Fox1996Doctor Who film, and the Controller of BBC OneLorraine Heggessey and Controller of Drama CommissioningJane Tranter approached Gardner and Davies to create a revival of the series to air in a primetime slot on Saturday nights, as part of their plan to devolve production to its regional bases. By mid-September, they accepted the deal to produce the series alongsideCasanova.[89]
Davies'spitch forDoctor Who was the first one he wrote voluntarily; previously, he opted to outline concepts of shows to commissioning executives and offer to write the pilot episode because he felt a pitch made him "feel like [he's] killing the work".[90] The fifteen-page pitch outlined aDoctor who was "your best friend; someone you want to be with all the time", the 19-year-oldRose Tyler (Billie Piper) as a "perfect match" for the new Doctor, avoidance of the 40-year back story "except for the good bits", the retention of theTARDIS,sonic screwdriver, andDaleks, removal of the Time Lords, and a greater focus on humanity. His pitch was submitted for the first production meeting in December 2003 and a series of thirteen episodes was obtained by pressure fromBBC Worldwide and a workable budget fromJulie Gardner.[90]
The first new series ofDoctor Who featured eight scripts by Davies; the remainder were allocated to experienced dramatists and writers for the show'sancillary releases:Steven Moffat penned a two-episode story, andMark Gatiss,Robert Shearman, andPaul Cornell each wrote one script.[91] Davies also approached his old friend Paul Abbott andHarry Potter authorJ. K. Rowling to write for the series; both declined due to existing commitments. Shortly after he secured writers for the show, Davies stated he had no intention of approaching writers from the old series; the only writer he would have wished to work with was Holmes, who died in May 1986.[91]
By early 2004, the show had settled into a regular production cycle. Davies, Gardner, and BBC Controller of Continuing Drama SeriesMal Young took posts as executive producers, and Phil Collinson, his old colleague from Granada, took the role of producer.[92] Davies's official position asshowrunner combined the roles ofhead writer and executive producer and consisted of laying a skeletal plot for the entire series, holding "tone meetings" to correctly identify the tone of an episode, often described in one word—for example, the "tone word" for Moffat's "The Empty Child" was "romantic"—and overseeing all aspects of production.[92]
The production team was also tasked with finding a suitable actor for the role of the Doctor. Most notably, they approached film actorHugh Grant and comedianRowan Atkinson for the role. By the time Young suggestedThe Second Coming andOur Friends in the North actorChristopher Eccleston to Davies, Eccleston was one of three left in the running for the role: the other candidates are rumoured to have beenAlan Davies andBill Nighy.[93] Eccleston created his own characteristics of his rendition of the Doctor based on Davies's life, most notably, his catchphrase "Fantastic!":
[The central message of the show is] seize life, it's brief, enjoy it. The Doctor is always saying "isn't it fantastic?", which is one of Russell's favourite words. "Look at that blue alien, isn't it fantastic? Oh, it's trying to kill me. Never mind, let's solve it."
— Christopher Eccleston[94]
The show started filming in July 2004 on location inCardiff for "Rose".[95] The start of filming created stress among the production team because of unseen circumstances: several scenes from the first block had to be re-shot because the original footage was unusable; theSlitheen prosthetics for "Aliens of London", "World War Three", and "Boom Town" were noticeably different from their computer-generated counterparts; and the BBC came to a gridlock in negotiations with theTerry Nation estate to secure theDaleks for thesixth episode of the series; Davies and episode writerRob Shearman were forced to rework the script to feature another race, until Gardner was able to secure the rights a month later.[95] After the first production block, which he described as "hitting a brick wall", the show's production was markedly eased as the crew familiarised themselves.[95]
The first episode of the revivedDoctor Who, "Rose", aired on 26 March 2005 and received 10.8 million viewers and favourable critical reception. Four days after the transmission of "Rose", Tranter approved aChristmas special and asecond series. The press release was overshadowed by a leaked announcement that Christopher Eccleston would leave the role after one series; in response, David Tennant was announced as Eccleston's replacement.[96]
Tennant had been offered the role when he was watching a pre-transmission copy ofDoctor Who with Davies and Gardner. Tennant initially believed the offer was a joke, but after he realised they were serious, he accepted the role and made his first appearance in thedénouement of "The Parting of the Ways", the final episode of the first series.[97][98]Doctor Who continued to be one of BBC's flagship programmes throughout Davies's tenure, and resulted in record sales of the show'sofficial magazine, an increase inspin-off novels, and the launch of the children's magazineDoctor Who Adventures and toysonic screwdrivers and Daleks.[99] The show's popularity ultimately led to a resurgence in family-orientated Saturday night drama; the ITV science-fiction seriesPrimeval and the BBC historical dramasRobin Hood andMerlin were specifically designed for an early Saturday evening timeslot.[99] Davies was also approached by the BBC to produce several spin-off series, eventually creating two:Torchwood andThe Sarah Jane Adventures.[100]
"WithDoctor Who we often had to pretend that bits of Cardiff were London, orUtah, or the planet Zog. Whereas [Torchwood] is going to be honest-to-God Cardiff. We will happily walk past theMillennium Centre and say, 'Look, there's the Millennium Centre'."
In October 2005, BBC Three Controller Stuart Murphy invited Davies to create a post-watershedDoctor Who spin-off in the wake of the parent series' popularity.Torchwood—named after ananagrammatictitle ruse used to prevent leaks ofDoctor Who's first series—incorporated elements from an abandoned Davies project titledExcalibur and featured thepansexual 51st century time-travelerJack Harkness (John Barrowman) and a team of alien hunters in Cardiff.[100] The show began production in April 2006 and was marketed through foreshadowing in the main story arc ofDoctor Who's second series, which portrayed Torchwood as a covert quasi-governmental organisation that monitors, exploits, and suppresses the existence of extraterrestrial life and technology.[102] Upon its transmission,Torchwood was one of BBC Three's most popular shows; however, it received criticism for "adolescent" use of sexual and violent themes. This led the production team to alter the format to be subtler in its portrayal of adult themes.[100]
Concurrently, he was approached to produce a CBBC show which was described asYoung Doctor Who.[103] Davies was reluctant to diminish the mystery of the Doctor's character and instead pitched a show withElisabeth Sladen as the once-popular companionSarah Jane Smith:The Sarah Jane Adventures, which follows Sarah Jane and local schoolchildren as they investigate extraterrestrial events in theLondon Borough of Ealing. The show was given abackdoor pilot as theDoctor Who episode "School Reunion" and premièred in its own right with "Invasion of the Bane" on 1 January 2007. The show was more successful than its 1981 predecessorK-9 and Company; it received more favourable reviews thanTorchwood and a significant periphery demographic which compared the show to 1970sDoctor Who episodes.[103]
The workload of managing three separate shows prompted Davies to delegate writing tasks forTorchwood andThe Sarah Jane Adventures to other writers so he could focus on writingDoctor Who.[104] AfterBillie Piper's departure as Rose Tyler in the second series finale "Doomsday", he suggested a third spin-off,Rose Tyler: Earth Defence, a compilation of annualbank holiday specials which followed Rose and a parallel universe version of Torchwood.[105] He later reneged on his idea, as he believed Rose should stay off screen, and abandoned the idea even though it had been budgeted.[105]
In September 2008,BBC Books publishedThe Writer's Tale, a collection of emails between Davies andRadio Times andDoctor Who Magazine journalistBenjamin Cook.[106] Dubbed the "Great Correspondence" by Davies and Cook,[107]The Writer's Tale covers a period between February 2007 and March 2008 and explores his writing processes and the development of his scripts for thefourth series ofDoctor Who: "Voyage of the Damned", "Partners in Crime", "Midnight", "Turn Left", "The Stolen Earth", and "Journey's End". The book's first chapter focuses on Cook's "big questions"[108] on Davies's writing style,[107] character development—he used theDoctor Who characterDonna Noble (Catherine Tate) and theSkins characterTony Stonem (Nicholas Hoult) as contrasting examples—,[109] how he formulated ideas for stories,[110] and the question "why do you write?".[108] After several weeks, Cook assumes an unofficial advisory role to the scriptwriting and the development of the series. The book's epilogue consists of a short exchange between Davies and Cook: Cook changes from his role as "Invisible Ben" to "Visible Ben" and strongly advises to vastly alter thedenouement to "Journey's End" from a cliffhanger which led into "The Next Doctor"—which had occurred in the previous three series finales, "The Parting of the Ways", "Doomsday", and "Last of the Time Lords"—to a melancholy ending that showed the Doctor alone in the TARDIS. After three days of deliberation, Davies accepts Cook's suggestion and thanks him for improving both episodes.[111]
After its release, the pair embarked on a five-stop signing tour to promote the book in October 2008 atWaterstone's branches in London,Birmingham, Manchester,Bristol, and Cardiff.[112] The book received positive reviews: Veronica Horwell ofThe Guardian wrote Davies was the "Scheherazade ofCardiff Bay" and opined the book should have been twice the published length;[113] Ian Berriman of science fiction magazineSFX gave the book five stars and commented it was the only book about "new Who" a reader needed;[114] television criticCharlie Brooker was inspired by the book to devote an entire episode of hisBBC Four showScreenwipe to interviewing television writers;[115] and chat show coupleRichard and Judy selected the book as a recommended Christmas present in the "Serious Non-Fiction" category oftheir book club.[116] A second edition of the book,The Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter, was released in January 2010 by BBC Books. The second edition added 350 pages of correspondence—before excising draft scripts included in the first edition—and covered Davies's final months as executive producer ofDoctor Who as he co-wrote the five-partBBC OneTorchwood miniseriesChildren of Earth, plannedDavid Tennant's departure andMatt Smith's arrival as the Doctor, and moved to the United States.[115]
Davies stepped down from the show's production in 2009 along with Gardner and Collinson, and finished his tenure with four special length episodes. His departure from the show was announced in May 2008, alongside a press release which namedSteven Moffat as his successor.[117] His role in late 2008 was split between writing the 2009 specials and preparing for the transition between his and Moffat's production team; one chapter ofThe Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter discusses plans between him, Gardner, and Tennant to announce Tennant's departure live during ITV'sNational Television Awards in October 2008.[118] His final full script forDoctor Who was finished in the early morning of 4 March 2009, and filming of the episode closed on 20 May 2009.[119][120]
Davies moved with Gardner andJane Tranter to the United States in June 2009 and resided in Los Angeles, California.[121][122] He continued to oversee production ofTorchwood andThe Sarah Jane Adventures; he wrote one story for the 2010 series ofThe Sarah Jane Adventures,Death of the Doctor, which included Matt Smith as the Doctor andKaty Manning as the Doctor's former companionJo Grant,[123] and was the executive producer and author of the premiere ("The New World") and finale ("The Blood Line") ofTorchwood: Miracle Day, the fourth series ofTorchwood.[124] He additionally gave informal assistance to and later served as creative consultant of ex-Doctor Who script editorHelen Raynor's and playwrightGary Owen'sBBC Cymru Wales drama,Baker Boys.[125] Davies had planned to return to art by writing a graphic novel, and was approached byLucasfilm to write for the proposedStar Wars live-action television series but refused the commission.[126]
In August 2011, Davies's boyfriend Andrew Smith was diagnosed with a brain tumour, which prompted Davies to postpone current projects and move back to the UK so his partner could undergo treatment closer to their respective families.[127] Davies's return enabled him to develop a replacement series forThe Sarah Jane Adventures with prolific series writerPhil Ford after the former series ended due toElisabeth Sladen's death.[128]Wizards vs Aliens, a CBBC drama about a teenage wizard and his scientist friend and their conflict with the alien Nekross who wished to destroy Earth, was formed to create a "genre clash" between science fiction andsupernatural fantasy, as opposed to "culture clashes" such asCowboys & Aliens.[129] Davies additionally made his first contribution toCBeebies, with two scripts forOld Jack's Boat, which starsDoctor Who alumniBernard Cribbins andFreema Agyeman as retired fisherman Jack and his neighbour Shelley.[130]
Davies's next project afterDoctor Who, codenamedMore Gay Men, was aspiritual successor toQueer as Folk and would have focused on middle-aged gay men in the Manchester gay scene. The show's genesis dates back from 2001, when his friend Carl Austin asked him "why are gay men so glad when we split up?". The show was due to enter into production in 2006, but was indefinitely postponed due to the success ofDoctor Who. Davies continued to develop ideas for the show, and explained a pivotal scene in the premiere to Cook in 2007:
I can imagine a man who is so enraged by something tiny—the fact that his boyfriend won't learn to swim—that he goes into a rage so great that, in one night, his entire life falls apart. It's not about the learning to swim at all, of course, it's about the way that your mind can fix on something small and use it as a gateway to a whole world of anger and pain... If I write the Learn To Swim scene well—and it could be the spine of the whole drama—then I will be saying something about gay men, about couples, about communications, about anger."
— Russell T Davies to Benjamin Cook, 6 March 2007,The Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter[131]
In 2011, the series had entered into pre-production, with American cable networkShowtime contracted for transmission andBBC Worldwide for distribution.[132] Showtime had reached the point of casting before Davies moved back to Manchester, at which point the series was picked up byChannel 4 to be produced withNicola Shindler and theRed Production Company. The commission by Channel 4 marked Davies's first collaboration with the channel sinceQueer as Folk and Shindler and Red sinceCasanova. Davies was convinced to return to the channel by Head of Drama and formerDoctor Who executive producerPiers Wenger, who described the show as a "political piece of writing" which creates a "radical approach" to sexuality.[133]
Cucumber focuses on the life of the middle-aged Henry Best (Vincent Franklin) and the fallout from a disastrous date with his boyfriend of nine years, and is accompanied withBanana, anE4 anthology series about younger characters across the LGBT spectrum on the periphery of theCucumber narrative, andTofu, an online documentary series available onAll 4 which discusses modern sex, sexuality and issues arisen during the show with the cast and public. The three names reference a urological scale which categorises themale erection by hardness from tofu to cucumber, and are used to symbolise differences in sexual attitudes and behaviour between the two generations.[133][134] AlthoughCucumber was designed as a self-contained serial about the life of one man, Davies envisionedBanana as open-ended with the potential to continue after its sister series finished.[135]
AfterCucumber, Davies returned to the BBC in 2016 to produceA Midsummer Night's Dream, an adaptation ofWilliam Shakespeare'sc. 1595–96 playA Midsummer Night's Dream. Davies credits the play as "opening his eyes to drama" after he starred in a school version of the play asBottom.[136]
In 2018, Davies produced and wrote the screenplay forA Very English Scandal, an adaptation of the bookA Very English Scandal about theThorpe affair—a sex scandal which involved formerLiberal Party leaderJeremy Thorpe—which starredHugh Grant as Thorpe andBen Whishaw as Thorpe's former lover Norman Scott. Davies's screenplay is more compassionate to Thorpe and Scott than previous narratives of the scandal, which he described as "history written by straight men".[137] For his writing on the series, Davies received a nomination for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special in 2019.[138]
Davies followed that with the miniseriesYears and Years, a Red Production Company series for BBC One which starredEmma Thompson,Rory Kinnear andRussell Tovey. It focuses on an ordinary family in Manchester who experience massive political, economic, and technological changes over fifteen years as a fascist dictator, played by Thompson, takes over Britain.[139]
It's a Sin, began filming on 7 October 2019—under the working title ofBoys[140]—and completed filming on 31 January 2020.[141] The series, produced by Red Productions forChannel 4, is a dramatised retrospective of theHIV/AIDS crisis during the 1980s, focusing on the men "living in the bedsits", as opposed to films such asPride, which focused on gay activists. Davies notes the stories about the politics of the crisis and the virus itself has been told, but not those about the early victims of the virus itself.[142]
In 2015, Davies describedBoys as a way of "coming to terms" with his own actions during the 1980s, when the shock of the crisis prevented him from properly mourning the deaths of his close friends.[142] Elements ofIt's a Sin mirror Davies's own experiences during the 1980s: a scene in the second episode where protagonist Richie Tozer—played byYears & Years frontmanOlly Alexander—mocks AIDS reflectsdenialist attitudes in the gay community during the early years of the crisis; the show's characters live in a fictionalised version of the "Pink Palace" flatshare-cum-party house owned by Davies's friends; andLydia West plays a fictionalised version of Davies's childhood friend—and later actress—Jill Nalder, who appears in the show as the fictional Jill's mother.[143][144]
It's a Sin is Davies's first script to primarily focus on AIDS sinceChildren's Ward, although the pandemic's legacy is present in his other shows:Queer as Folk relegates AIDS to fleeting mentions as Davies "refused to let [gay peoples'] lives be defined by the disease"; and inCucumber, middle-aged protagonist Henry blames "those fucking icebergs" for his fear of intimacy.[145] Although the series was filmed prior to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the show's transmission in early 2021 invited comparisons between the two pandemics; Davies himself cited the "overreaction and lack of reaction" to the pandemics, as well as the focus onsocial distancing andpersonal protective equipment, as "history [repeating] itself",[144] and Alexander likened his character's AIDS denialism in the opening episode toCOVID-19 conspiracy theorists.[146]
After his departure fromDoctor Who, Davies kept in contact with the show's crew and made several contributions to its expanded universe: in 2013, Davies made a cameo appearance inPeter Davison's spoof specialThe Five(ish) Doctors Reboot;[147] in 2015, hisVirgin New Adventures novelDamaged Goods was adapted into an audio play byBig Finish;[148] in 2017 he illustrated a book ofDoctor Who poetry titledNow We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse;[149] and in 2018, he wrote a novelisation of "Rose" forTarget Books.[150]
During theCOVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, Davies engaged withDoctor Who fans on social media by writing short stories and drawing sketches.[151] For the "Rose"watch party, Davies released a short story originally written in 2013 for the show's fiftieth anniversary—the story was written forDoctor Who Magazine and stylised as the final pages of a Target novelisation, but was not included in the magazine due to continuity conflicts with the anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor";[152] for the "New Earth" and "Gridlock" watch party, he wrote the script for an animated sequel, "The Secret of Novice Hame", with Tennant andAnna Hope reprising their roles as the Doctor and Hame respectively;[153] and for "The Runaway Bride" watch party, Davies shared excerpts of his 1986 spec script,Mind of the Hodiac, which was later optioned by Big Finish for itsThe Lost Stories audio play range and was released on 30 March 2022.[154]
On 24 September 2021, three weeks before filming had wrapped onChris Chibnall'sBBC Centenary special "The Power of the Doctor", the BBC announced Davies would return asDoctor Who showrunner, succeeding Chibnall for the show's60th anniversary in 2023 and beyond.[151][155][156] Davies is joined by theBad Wolf production company, which was founded by Gardner and Tranter.[157] In May 2022, the BBC announced that Davies had cast Rwandan–Scottish actorNcuti Gatwa in the role of the Doctor; Gatwa is the first black actor to portray the series' lead role.[158] A week later, the BBC further announced that David Tennant and Catherine Tate would reprise their roles of the Doctor andDonna Noble in the show's 2023 specials, which had already started filming.[159] On 23 October 2022, during the broadcast of "The Power of the Doctor", Tennant's character was revealed to be theFourteenth Doctor, which followedJodie Whittaker'sThirteenth Doctor and would precede Ncuti Gatwa'sFifteenth Doctor, whom took over in the last of the specials with Tennant, "The Giggle".[160] Tennant's scene at the end of "The Power of the Doctor" was also filmed in May 2022.[161] In November 2022, it was announced thatMillie Gibson would join the cast asRuby Sunday, the companion of the Fifteenth Doctor.[162]
Shooting on Gatwa and Gibson's first recording block began in December 2022, initially overlapping with Gatwa's schedule on the fourth season ofSex Education.[163][164] Gibson remained a cast member in thenext series, and appeared alongsideVarada Sethu as the new companion Belinda Chandra.[165][166][167] Shooting for the 2025 series began in October 2023, before the first full episode with the Fourteenth or the Fifteenth Doctor, or Sethu's appearance in "Boom" as Belinda's distant descendant Mundy Flynn, had aired.[166][168] Gatwa portrayed the Doctor for two series and left the series at the end of "The Reality War", broadcast in May 2025; his successor in the show's lead role wasBillie Piper, whose specific role in the show was left ambiguous.[169]
On 26 July 2024, duringSan Diego Comic-Con, the BBC andDisney Branded Television announced Davies would write a newDoctor Who spin-off,The War Between the Land and the Sea, andJemma Redgrave would reprise her role asUNIT commanderKate Lethbridge-Stewart in the series. It was filmed between August and December 2024 and is expected to air on BBC One andDisney+ in 2025.[170][171][172][173]
In 2021,Nolly, a miniseries written by Davies about theCrossroads starNoele Gordon, was the first drama commission for Nicola Shindler's newly-created production company, theITV Studios division Quay Street Productions, after Shindler left Red Production Company at the end of 2020.[43][174] The series aired in 2023,[175][176] and won Davies Best Writer at the 2023BAFTA Cymru Awards.[177]
He executive produced and was a script consultant for 2023'sThree Little Birds, a fictionalisation ofLenny Henry's mother's experiences arriving in Britain as part of theWindrush generation.[178]
In February 2025,Tip Toe, a miniseries surrounding two gay Manchester men facing theanti-LGBTQ+culture war of 2020s Britain, was commissioned byChannel 4 to be written by Davies.[179][180] It is another collaboration between Shindler's Quay Street and Davies, with Shindler and Davies both executive producing.[44]
In the 2010s Davies announced plans to write a series aboutsextortion, drawing inspiration from real-life incidents of blackmail which resulted in suicide,[181] and to adaptCharles Dickens'The Old Curiosity Shop for television.[137]
Davies is a self-admittedprocrastinator and often waits hours or days for concepts to form before he commits them to the script. InThe Writer's Tale, he describes his procrastination by discussing his early career: at the time, his method of dealing with the pressures of delivering a script was to "go out drinking" instead. On one occasion in the mid-1990s, he was at the Manchester gay clubCruz 101 when he thought of the climax to the first series ofThe Grand. As his career progressed, he instead spent entire nights "just thinking of plot, character, pace, etc" and waited until 2:00 am, "when the clubs used to shut", to overcome the urge of procrastination.[182] Davies described the sense of anxiety he experiences in an email to Cook in April 2007, in response to Cook's question of "how do you know when to start writing?":
I leave it till the last minute. And then I leave it some more. Eventually, I leave it till I'm desperate. ... I always think, I'm not ready to write it, I don't know what I'm doing, it's just a jumble of thoughts in a state of flux, there's no story, I don't know how A connects to B, I don't know anything! I get myself into a genuine state of panic. ... Normally, I'll leave it till the deadline, and I haven't even started writing. This has become, over the years, a week beyond the deadline, or even more. It can be a week—or weeks—past the delivery date, andI haven't started writing. In fact, I don't have delivery dates any more. I go by the start-of-preproduction date. I consider that to be my real deadline. And then I miss that. It's a cycle that I cannot break. I simply can't help it. It makes my life miserable.
— Russell T Davies to Benjamin Cook, 3 April 2007[183]
He expanded on his email two weeks later in response to Cook's query about the supposed link betweenmajor depressive disorder and creativity. He explained his anxiety and melancholy during the scriptwriting period still allowed him to keep on top of his work; on the other hand, he thought "Depression with a capital D [didn't provide] any such luxury".[184]
Davies explained in length his writing process to Cook inThe Writer's Tale. When he creates characters, he initially assigns a character a name and fits attributes around it. In the case of Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) in his inaugural series ofDoctor Who, he chose the name because he considered it a "good luck charm" after he used it for Lesley Sharp's character inBob & Rose. He presented his desire to make the show "essentially British" as another justification: he consideredRose to be "the most British name in the world" and feminine enough to subvert the then-current trend of female companions and their "boyish" names, such asBenny,Charley, andAce. While he was writing forThe Grand, the executive producer requested that he change the female lead character's name, a decision that led to the "character never [feeling] right from that moment on".[185] The surname "Harkness", most notably given toTorchwood leadCaptain Jack Harkness, is a similar charm, first used in 1993 for the Harkness family inCentury Falls, and ultimately derived from theMarvel Universe supporting characterAgatha Harkness,[33] and the surname "Tyler" is similarly used because of his affection for how the surname is spelled and pronounced.[186]
Davies also attempts to channel his writing by using music that fits the theme of the series as a source of inspiration:Doctor Who was typically written while he listened to action-adventure filmscores;Queer as Folk was written toHi-NRG music "to catch [the] sheer clubland drive";Bob & Rose was written to theMoby albumPlay, because the two works shared an "urban, sexy, full of lonely hearts at night" image; andThe Second Coming shared the concepts of "experimental[ity], anguish, dark[ness], [and] pain" ofRadiohead albums.[185] More specifically, he wrote the early drafts of the fourth seriesDoctor Who episode "Partners in Crime" while he was listening toMika'sLife in Cartoon Motion, and singled out the song "Any Other World" as a "Doctor Who companion song" with lyrics that matched Penny, the planned companion for the fourth series.[187]
When he creates new scripts, Davies considers thedénouement of a story to be representative of the work. He often formulates both the scene and its emotional impact early in the process, but writes the scenes last due to his belief that "[later scenes] can't exist if they aren't informed by where they've come from".[188] Davies is a strong advocate for the continued use of thecliffhanger ending and opposes advertising that sacrifices the impact of storytelling. In pursuit of his quest, he instructs editors to remove scenes from press copies of episodes he writes; cliffhangers were removed from the review copies of theDoctor Who episodes "Army of Ghosts",[189] "The Stolen Earth",[190] and the first part of "The End of Time",[191] and Rose Tyler's unadvertised appearance in "Partners in Crime" was excised.[192] In an interview with BBC News shortly after the transmission of episode "The Stolen Earth", he argued that the success of a popular television series is linked to how well producers can keep secrets and create a "live experience":[193]
It's exciting when you get kids in playground talking about your story, about who's going to live or die, then I consider that a job well done, because that's interactive television, that's what it's all about: it's debate and fun and chat. It's playing a game with the country and I think that's wonderful.
— Russell T Davies, "Struggle to keepWho secret",BBC News Online[193]
Davies attempts to both create imagery and to provide a social commentary in his scripts; for example, he uses camera directions in his scripts more frequently than newer screenwriters to ensure that anyone who reads the script, especially the director, is able to "feel... the pace, the speed, the atmosphere, the mood, the gags, [and] the dread". His stage directions also create an atmosphere by their formatting and avoidance of the first person.[194] Although the basis of several of his scripts derive from previous concepts, he claims most concepts for storytelling have been already used, and instead tries to tell a relatively new and entertaining plot; for example, theDoctor Who episode "Turn Left" shares its concept most notably with the 1998 filmSliding Doors. Like howSliding Doors examines two timelines based on whether Helen Quilley (Gwyneth Paltrow) catches aLondon Underground train, Davies uses the choice of the Doctor's companion to turn left or right at a road intersection to depict either a world with the Doctor, as seen throughout the rest of the fourth series, or analternate world without the Doctor, examined in its entirety within the episode.[195] The world without the Doctor creates a dystopia which he uses to provide a commentary on Nazi-esque fascism.[196][197] Davies generally tries to make his scripts "quite detailed, but very succinct", and eschews the long character and set descriptions; instead, he limits himself to only three adjectives to describe a character and two lines to describe a set to allow the dialogue to describe the story instead.[198]
Davies also uses his scripts to examine and debate on large issues such as sexuality and religion, especially from a homosexual oratheist perspective. He refrains from a dependence on "cheap, easy lines" which provide little deeper insight;[199] his mantra during his early adult drama career was "no boring issues".[23]Queer as Folk is the primary vehicle for his social commentary of homosexuality and advocation of greater acceptance. He used the series to challenge the "primal ... gut instinct" of homophobia by introducing homosexual imagery in contrast to the heterosexual "fundamental image of life, of family, of childhood, [and] of survival".[199][200] His next series,Bob & Rose, examined the issue of a gay man who falls in love with a woman, and the reaction of the couple's respective social circles.[58]Torchwood, in Davies's own words, is "a very bisexual programme", and demonstrates a fluid approach to both gender and sexuality "almost from its opening moments": for example, the lead characterCaptain Jack Harkness nonchalantly mentions he was once pregnant; and later, the other lead characters discuss Jack's sexuality. The culture websiteAfterElton opined thatTorchwood's biggest breakthrough could be "queer representation" by showing Captain Jack as a character whose bisexuality is explored but not his only character trait.[201]
His most notable commentaries of religion and atheism areThe Second Coming and his 2007Doctor Who episode "Gridlock".The Second Coming's depiction of a contemporary and realisticSecond Coming ofJesus Christ eschews the use of religious iconography in favour of a love story underlined by the male lead's "awakening as the Son of God".[194] In contrast, "Gridlock" takes a more pro-active role in debating religion: the episode depicts the unity of the supporting cast in singing the Christian hymns "Abide with Me" and "The Old Rugged Cross" as a positive aspect of faith, but depicts the Doctor as an atheistic hero which shows the faith as misguided because "there is no higher authority".[199] He also includes his commentary as an undertone in other stories; he described the sub-plot of the differing belief systems of the Doctor andQueen Victoria in "Tooth and Claw" as a conflict between "Rational Man versus Head of the Church".[199]
Like other script writers duringDoctor Who's original tenure, several of Davies's scripts are influenced by his personal politics. Marc Edward DiPaolo ofOklahoma City University observes that Davies usually espouses a "left-leaning" view through his scripts.[202] Beyond religion and sexuality, Davies most notably satirises the United States underGeorge W. Bush onDoctor Who: theSlitheen in "Aliens of London" and "World War Three" and Henry van Statten in "Dalek" were portrayed as sociopathic capitalists; theDaleks under his tenure echoed contemporary American conservatives in their appearances, from religious fundamentalists in "The Parting of the Ways" to imperialists in "Daleks in Manhattan" and "Evolution of the Daleks"; and in "The Sound of Drums", a parody of Bush is murdered by theMaster (John Simm), who was presented in the story as aPrime Minister reminiscent ofTony Blair.[202] Other targets of satire in hisDoctor Who scripts includeFox News,News Corporation, and the24-hour news cycle in "The Long Game", plastic surgery and consumer culture in "The End of the World", obesity andalternative medicine in "Partners in Crime", and racism and paranoia in "Midnight".[202]
Saving it from extinction.
— Frank Cottrell-Boyce, when asked his opinion on Davies's greatest contribution to British television drama.[203]
Davies has received recognition for his work since his career as a children's television writer. Davies's firstBAFTA award nominations came in 1993 when he was nominated for the "Children's Programme (Fiction or Entertainment)"British Academy Television Award for his work onChildren's Ward.[204]Children's Ward was nominated for the "Drama"British Academy Children's Award in 1996 and won the same award in 1997.[205][206] His next critically successful series wasBob & Rose; it was nominated for a Television Award for Best Drama Serial and won twoBritish Comedy Awards for Best Comedy Drama and Writer of the Year.[207][208]The Second Coming was nominated for the same Television Award in 2004.[209] His work onThe Second Coming earned him a nomination for aRoyal Television Society Programme Award.[210]
Much of Davies's recognition came as a result of his work onDoctor Who. In 2006,Doctor Who won two Television Awards—Best Drama Series and the Pioneer Audience Award—and he was awarded the honorary Dennis Potter Award for writing.[211][212] He also received that year'sBAFTA CymruSiân Phillips Award for Outstanding Contribution to Network Television.[213] At theEdinburgh International Television Festival, he was awarded the accolade of "Industry Player of the Year" in 2006.[214] In 2007, Davies won the "Best Soap/Series"Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award—along withChris Chibnall,Paul Cornell,Stephen Greenhorn,Steven Moffat,Helen Raynor, andGareth Roberts—for their work on thethird series ofDoctor Who.[215] He was again nominated for two BAFTA Awards in 2009: a Television Award for his work onDoctor Who,[216] and the Television Craft Award for Best Writer, for the episode "Midnight".[217] Davies was nominated four times for competitiveBAFTA Cymru awards due to his work onDoctor Who: in 2006, he was nominated for Best Screenwriter for the whole series;[218] in 2007, he won the same award for "Doomsday";[219] in 2009, he won the award again for "Midnight";[220] and he was nominated again for Best Writer in 2024.[221]
Under his tenure,Doctor Who won five consecutiveNational Television Awards between 2005 and 2010.[222][223][224][225][226] Davies has also been nominated for fiveHugo Awards for hisDoctor Who scripts in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2024, and 2025, all in the category of "Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form": in 2007, the story comprising "Army of Ghosts" and "Doomsday" was defeated by Steven Moffat's "The Girl in the Fireplace";[227] in 2009, the episode "Turn Left" was defeated byJoss Whedon'sDr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog;[228] and in 2010, all three of his scripts which were eligible for the award, "The Next Doctor", the Davies–Roberts collaboration "Planet of the Dead", and the Davies–Ford collaboration "The Waters of Mars", were nominated: the award was won by "The Waters of Mars" and the other episodes took second and third place.[229][230] In 2024, his episodes "The Giggle" and "Wild Blue Yonder" lost toThe Last of Us episode "Long, Long Time", directed byPeter Hoar,[231] a director ofIt's a Sin,Nolly, andDoctor Who series 15 for Davies, and a prior nominee for the same award forseries 6's "A Good Man Goes to War". Davies's episodes "73 Yards" and "Dot and Bubble" were nominated for the award in 2025.[232]
The first episode ofTorchwood: Children of Earth was nominated for a BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Screenwriter in 2010,[233] and in 2011The Sarah Jane Adventures was nominated by BAFTA for the Best Children's Drama award.[234]
During Davies's first tenure as executive producer (2005–2010), only Steven Moffat's "Silence in the Library", which was scheduled against the final ofthe second series ofBritain's Got Talent, failed to win in its time slot. The show's viewing figures were consistently high enough that the only broadcasts to have consistently rivalledDoctor Who for viewers in theBroadcasters' Audience Research Board's weekly charts wereEastEnders,Coronation Street,Britain's Got Talent, and internationalfootball matches.[235] His first episode "Rose" was seen by 10.81 million viewers within seven days, and was the seventh most watched programme of the week.[236] Two of his scripts, "Voyage of the Damned" and "The Stolen Earth", broke audience records for the show by being declared the second most viewed broadcasts of their respective weeks, and "Journey's End" became the first episode to be the most viewed broadcast of the week.[237] Within seven days of the transmission of Davies's returning episode "The Star Beast" (2023), the episode was the most watchedDoctor Who broadcast in the UK since 2018's "The Tsuranga Conundrum", and the ninth most watched drama programme in the whole of 2023, beaten only by episodes ofHappy Valley (2014–2023) andDeath in Paradise (2011–). All three of the60th anniversary specials ranked as the top ten most watched broadcast of their respective weeks, although these episodes were behind multiple episodes of just two shows:Strictly Come Dancing andI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here![238] His second era also had enough viewers for the 2023 and 2024 Christmas specials—his own script for "The Church on Ruby Road" and Moffat's "Joy to the World"—to surpassEastEnders andCoronation Street's episodes on Christmas Day and have comparative ratings withCall the Midwife (2012–).[238][239] Every episode ofseries 14 except for "Dot and Bubble" was in the top 20 most watched broadcasts of the week in the UK, with the first five episodes averaging a position of 16th place, comparable withseries 1 in 2005.[240][241] The season premiere "Space Babies" placed 10th after seven days and 9th after 28 days. The episode immediately following it and released the same day, "The Devil's Chord",[c] placed 12th after seven days and 6th after 28 days.[240] The season's main competition was against theNetflix UK broadcast ofBridgerton (2020–), coverage of the2024 general election, soap operas, and football.[241] The show enjoyed consistentAppreciation Index ratings during both eras Davies worked as executive producer: "Love & Monsters", regarded byDoctor Who fans as the worst of Davies's scripts during his first era,[242] gained a rating of 76,[243] just short of the 2006 average rating of 77;[244] and the episodes "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End" share the highest ratingDoctor Who has received, at 91.[245] During the second Davies era, ratings ranged from "Space Babies" having 75.4 to "The Giggle" having 84.9.[239]
AmongDoctor Who fans, his contribution to the show ranks as high as the show's first producerVerity Lambert: in a 2009 poll of 6,700Doctor Who Magazine readers, he won the "Greatest Contribution" award with 22.62% of the votes against Lambert's 22.49% share,[246] in addition to winning the magazine's 2005, 2006, and 2008 awards for the best writer of each series.[247] Ian Farrington, who commented on the 2009 "Greatest Contribution" poll, attributed Davies's popularity to his range of writing styles, from the epic "Doomsday" to the minimalistic "Midnight", and his ability to market the show to appeal to a wide audience.[246]
Davies's work onDoctor Who has led to accolades out of the television industry. He features in the Pinc List of leading Welsh LGBT figures.[248]Between 2005 and 2008, he was included inThe Guardian's "Media 100": in 2005, he was ranked the 14th most influential man in the media;[249] in 2006, the 28th;[250] in 2007, the 15th;[251] and in 2008, the 31st.[252] In 2008 he was ranked the 42nd most influential person inBritish culture byThe Telegraph.[253]The Independent on Sunday recognised his contributions to the public by including him on seven consecutivePink Lists, which chronicle the achievements of gay and lesbian personalities: in 2005, he was ranked the 73rd most influential gay person;[254] in 2006, the 18th;[254] in 2007, the most influential gay person;[255] in 2008, the 2nd;[256] in 2009, the 14th;[257] in 2010, the 64th;[258] in 2011, the 47th;[259] in 2012, the 56th;[260] and in 2013, was listed as a permanent member of the List's "national treasures".[261] Davies was appointed Officer of theOrder of the British Empire in the2008 Birthday Honours for services to drama,[262] and an honorary fellowship byCardiff University in July 2008.[263]
Since his initial departure fromDoctor Who, Davies has continued to receive recognition for his work: in 2016, Davies won a British Academy Craft Award in the category of "Best Writer: Drama" forCucumber;[264] in 2017,A Midsummer Night's Dream was nominated for BAFTA Cymru's "Best Feature/Television Film Award";[265] in 2019, Davies was nominated for seven awards forA Very English Scandal—a British Academy Television Award for "Best Mini-Series", a British Academy Craft Award and a Royal Television Society Award for "Best Writer: Drama", a British Academy Cymru Award for "Best Writer", aPrimetime Emmy Award forOutstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special, aUSC Scripter Award for Television, and a Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Short Form TV Drama—and won the Cymru Award, USC Scripter Award, and the Writers' Guild Award;[138][264][266][267][268][269][270] in 2020,Years and Years was nominated for the British Academy Cymru Award for "Best Writer";[271] in 2021,It's a Sin was nominated for three BAFTA Cymru Awards, with Davies winning the award for writing;[272] and in 2022,It's a Sin received six British Academy Television Award nominations and five British Academy Craft Award nominations, with Davies being nominated for the British Academy Craft Award for Best Writing: Drama.[273] The same year, Davies also won the Writers' Guild Award for Best Long Form TV Drama.[274] In July 2022, Davies was elected as a Fellow of theRoyal Society of Literature for his contributions to television.[275] In 2016 he won the award for Outstanding Contribution to Writing at the Writers' Guild Awards,[276] and in 2017 and 2021 he was the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Edinburgh International Television Festival and Royal Television Society Programme Awards, respectively.[277][278][279]
Davies was in a relationship with Andrew Smith, a customs officer, between 1999 and Smith's death in 2018.[280][281] They entered into acivil partnership on 1 December 2012, after Smith was diagnosed with a brain tumour from which he was given only a 3% chance of recovering.[282] Smith died on 29 September 2018.[283]Years and Years ends with a title card which dedicates the series to Smith.[284]
In an interview with theRoyal Television Society in 2019, Davies described himself as "absolutely happily left wing".[285] While being interviewed aboutIt's a Sin onITV Wales in 2021, Davies was asked if he was "indy-curious" aboutWelsh independence.[286] He replied that he was not sure the currentSenedd was worthy, but that the government at Whitehall did not care about Welsh issues and that Wales should start looking into fending for itself.[287][288]
| Series | Channels | Years | Credited as | Note(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writer | Producer | Executive producer | Other roles | ||||
| Why Don't You? | BBC1 | 1985–90 | Yes | Yes | Director, assistant floor manager, and publicist | Various episodes | |
| Play School | 1987 | Presenter | One episode | ||||
| On the Waterfront | 1988–89 | Sketch writer and script editor | |||||
| DEF II | BBC2 | 1989 | Sketch writer | Various episodes, uncredited | |||
| Breakfast Serials | BBC1 | 1990 | Yes | Yes | |||
| Dark Season | 1991 | Yes | Creator | Also wrote the novelisation | |||
| Children's Ward | ITV | 1992–96 | Yes | Yes | |||
| Families | 1992–93 | Storyliner | |||||
| ChuckleVision | BBC1 | 1992 | Yes | Three episodes | |||
| Century Falls | 1993 | Yes | Creator | ||||
| Cluedo | ITV | Yes | One episode | ||||
| Do the Right Thing | BBC1 | 1994–95 | Scriptwriter | Uncredited | |||
| The House of Windsor | ITV | 1994 | Yes | Various episodes, several uncredited | |||
| Revelations | 1994–95 | Yes | Co-creator | Various episodes. Created withBrian B. Thompson andTony Wood. | |||
| Coronation Street | 1996 | Storyliner | Two weeks; cover for permanent storyliner. | ||||
| Springhill | Channel 4/Sky One | 1996–97 | Yes | Co-creator and storyliner | Seven episodes. Created withPaul Abbott andFrank Cottrell Boyce. | ||
| Coronation Street: Viva Las Vegas! | Straight-to-video | 1997 | Yes | ||||
| Touching Evil | BBC1 | Yes | One episode | ||||
| The Grand | ITV | 1997–98 | Yes | 18 episodes, several uncredited | |||
| Queer as Folk | Channel 4 | 1999–2000 | Yes | Yes | Creator | Scripts published asQueen as Folk: The Scripts (1999) | |
| Bob & Rose | ITV | 2001 | Yes | Yes | |||
| Linda Green | BBC One | Yes | One episode | ||||
| The Second Coming | ITV | 2003 | Yes | Yes | Creator | ||
| Mine All Mine | 2004 | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Casanova | BBC Three | 2005 | Yes | Yes | |||
| Doctor Who | BBC One (2005–10, 2023–present) Disney+ (2023–2025) |
| Yes | Yes |
| ||
| Doctor Who Confidential | BBC Three | 2005–10 | Yes | ||||
| Tardisodes | BBC.co.uk | 2006 | Yes | ||||
| Torchwood | BBC Three (2006–07) BBC Two (2007) BBC One (2009) BBC HD (2006–09) BBC One (HD)/Starz (2011) | 2006–11 | Yes | Yes | Creator |
| |
| Torchwood Declassified | BBC Three | Yes | |||||
| The Sarah Jane Adventures | CBBC/BBC One | 2007–11 | Yes | Yes | Creator |
| |
| Baker Boys | BBC One Wales | 2011 | Creative consultant | ||||
| Wizards vs Aliens | CBBC | 2012–13 | Yes | Yes | Co-creator | Created withPhil Ford | |
| Old Jack's Boat | CBeebies | 2013 | Yes | Two episodes | |||
| The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot | BBC Red Button | Actor | Played a caricature of himself | ||||
| Cucumber | Channel 4 | 2015 | Yes | Yes | Creator | Cucumber,Banana, andTofu share afictional universe[133] | |
| Banana | E4 | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Tofu | All 4 | Yes | |||||
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | BBC One | 2016 | Yes | Yes | |||
| A Very English Scandal | 2018 | Yes | Yes | Adaptation of the 2016 bookA Very English Scandal | |||
| Years and Years | 2019 | Yes | Yes | Creator | |||
| It's a Sin | Channel 4 | 2021 | Yes | Yes | |||
| Nolly | ITV | 2023 | Yes | Yes | |||
| Three Little Birds | Yes | Script consultant | |||||
| Tales of the TARDIS | BBC iPlayer | 2023–2024 | Yes | Yes | Creator | ||
| The War Between the Land and the Sea | BBC One/Disney+ | 2025[173] | Yes | Yes |
| ||
| Tip Toe | Channel 4 | Upcoming | Yes | Yes | |||
| Year | Episode | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Who credits (2005–2010) | ||
| 2005 | "Rose" | Series 1 |
| "The End of the World" | ||
| "Aliens of London" / "World War Three" | ||
| "The Long Game" | ||
| "Boom Town" | ||
| "Bad Wolf" / "The Parting of the Ways" | ||
| "The Christmas Invasion" | Christmas special | |
| 2006 | "New Earth" | Series 2 |
| "Tooth and Claw" | ||
| "Love & Monsters" | ||
| "Army of Ghosts" / "Doomsday" | ||
| "The Runaway Bride" | Christmas special | |
| 2007 | "Smith and Jones" | Series 3 |
| "Gridlock" | ||
| "Utopia" / "The Sound of Drums" / "Last of the Time Lords" | ||
| "Voyage of the Damned" | Christmas special | |
| 2008 | "Partners in Crime" | Series 4 |
| "Midnight" | ||
| "Turn Left" | ||
| "The Stolen Earth" / "Journey's End" | ||
| "The Next Doctor" | 2008–2010 specials
| |
| 2009 | "Planet of the Dead" | |
| "The Waters of Mars" | ||
| 2009–2010 | "The End of Time" | |
| Doctor Who credits (2022–present) | ||
| 2022 | "The Power of the Doctor" | BBC Centenary special, uncredited, 1 scene[290] |
| 2023 | "The Star Beast" | 2023 specials |
| "Wild Blue Yonder" | ||
| "The Giggle" | ||
| "The Church on Ruby Road" | Christmas special | |
| 2024 | "Space Babies" | Series 14[g] |
| "The Devil's Chord" | ||
| "73 Yards" | ||
| "Dot and Bubble" | ||
| "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" / "Empire of Death" | ||
| 2025 | "The Robot Revolution" | Series 15[h]
|
| "Lux" | ||
| "The Well" | ||
| "Wish World" / "The Reality War" | ||
| Torchwood credits | ||
| 2006 | "Everything Changes" | Series 1 |
| 2009 | "Day One" | Children of Earth
|
| "Day Three" | ||
| "Day Five" | ||
| 2011 | "The New World" | Miracle Day
|
| "The Blood Line" | ||
| The Sarah Jane Adventures credits | ||
| 2007 | "Invasion of the Bane" | New Year's Day special. Co-written withGareth Roberts |
| 2010 | Death of the Doctor | Series 4 |
| Tales of the TARDIS credits | ||
| 2023 | "Earthshock" | Additional material only; original story byEric Saward |
| 2024 | "Pyramids of Mars" | Additional material only; original story by Stephen Harris |
| The War Between the Land and the Sea credits | ||
| 2025[173] | Episode 1[289] | Miniseries
|
| Episode 4[289] | ||
| Episode 5[289] | ||
| Minisodes credits | ||
| 2005 | "Doctor Who: Children in Need" | Mini-episode and part ofChildren in Need 2005. Also known as "Born Again". |
| 2008 | "Music of the Spheres" | Mini-episode and part of the2008Doctor Who Prom |
| 2009 | UntitledTonight's the Night sketch | Mini-episode and part ofTonight's the Night |
| "The Doctor and the Reindeer" | ABBC One "Circle" ident;David Tennant portrays the Doctor in a set of scenes aired to promoteChristmas onBBC One in 2009. | |
| 2023 | "Destination: Skaro" | Mini-episode and part ofChildren in Need 2023 |
| "Doctor Who: The Bedtime Story" | Mini-episode. Broadcast onCBeebies. | |
| 2024 | "Bad Music" | Mini-episode and part of the 2024Doctor Who Prom |
| Doctor Who novel credits | ||
| 1996 | Damaged Goods | Adapted into audio in 2015 byJonathan Morris[291] |
| 2018 | Rose | Novelisation of the 2005 episode |
| Doctor Who short fiction credits | ||
| 2020 | "Revenge of the Nestene" | Doctor Who: Adventures in Lockdown |
| "Doctor Who and the Time War" | ||
| "The Secret of Novice Hame" | ||
| Doctor Who non-fiction book credits | ||
| 2008 | The Writer's Tale | WithBenjamin Cook |
| 2010 | The Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter | With Benjamin Cook. Expanded edition ofThe Writer's Tale. |
| Doctor Who illustrator credits | ||
| 2017 | Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse | Written byJames Goss |
| Unbroadcast credits | ||
| 1986 | Mind of the Hodiac | Unbroadcast spec script, later written as an audio drama by Davies andScott Handcock forBig Finish Productions in 2022 |
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Result | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | British Academy Television Awards | Children's Ward | Children's Programme – Fiction or Entertainment | Nominated | [204] | |
| 1996 | British Academy Children's Awards | Drama | Nominated | With Kieran Roberts and Beryl Richards | [205] | |
| 1997 | Won | [206] | ||||
| 2001 | British Comedy Awards | Bob & Rose | Writer of the Year | Won | [208] | |
| 2002 | British Academy Television Awards | Drama Serial | Nominated | With Ann Harrison-Baxter, Julian Farino, andJoe Wright | [207] | |
| 2004 | The Second Coming | Nominated | With Ann Harrison-Baxter andAdrian Shergold | [209] | ||
| Royal Television Society Programme Awards | Writing | Nominated | [210] | |||
| 2006 | Edinburgh International Television Festival | — | Industry Player of the Year | Won | [214] | |
| British Academy Television Awards | — | Dennis Potter Award | Won | [212] | ||
| Doctor Who | Drama Series | Won | WithPhil Collinson andJulie Gardner | [211] | ||
| British Academy Television Craft Awards | Writer | Nominated | [292] | |||
| BAFTA Cymru | Screenwriter | Nominated | [218] | |||
| — | Siân Phillips Award | Won | [213] | |||
| 2007 | Doctor Who: "Doomsday" | Screenwriter | Won | [219] | ||
| Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards | Doctor Who series 3 | Best Soap/Series (TV) | Won | WithChris Chibnall,Paul Cornell,Stephen Greenhorn,Steven Moffat,Helen Raynor, andGareth Roberts | [215] | |
| Hugo Award | Doctor Who: "Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday" | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form | Nominated | WithGraeme Harper | [227] | |
| 2008 | SFX Awards | |||||
| — | Hall of Fame | Nominated | [293] | |||
| Doctor Who | Best TV Series | Won | [294] | |||
| Doctor Who: "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End" | Best TV Episode | Won | [295][294] | |||
| Doctor Who: "Midnight" | Nominated | [294] | ||||
| Doctor Who: "Turn Left" | Nominated | [294] | ||||
| 2009 | Hugo Award | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form | Nominated | With Graeme Harper | [228] | |
| British Academy Television Craft Awards | Doctor Who: "Midnight" | Writer | Nominated | [217][292] | ||
| BAFTA Cymru | Screenwriter | Won | [220] | |||
| British Academy Television Awards | Doctor Who | Drama Series | Nominated | With Phil Collinson, Julie Gardner, and Susie Liggat | [216] | |
| British Fantasy Awards | Television | Won | [296] | |||
| 2010 | Won | [296] | ||||
| BAFTA Cymru | Torchwood: Children of Earth: "Day One" | Screenwriter | Nominated | [233] | ||
| SFX Awards | Torchwood: Children of Earth: "Day Five" | Best TV Episode | Won | [297][298] | ||
| Doctor Who: "The Next Doctor" | Nominated | [298] | ||||
| Hugo Award | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form | Nominated | WithAndy Goddard | [229] | ||
| Doctor Who: "Planet of the Dead" | Nominated | With Gareth Roberts andJames Strong | [229] | |||
| SFX Awards | Best TV Episode | Nominated | With Gareth Roberts | [298] | ||
| Hugo Award | Doctor Who: "The Waters of Mars" | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form | Won | WithPhil Ford and Graeme Harper | [229] | |
| 2011 | British Academy Children's Awards | The Sarah Jane Adventures | Drama | Nominated | With Brian Minchin and Ashley Way | [234] |
| 2016 | British Academy Television Craft Awards | Cucumber | Writer: Drama | Won | [264] | |
| Royal Television Society Programme Awards | Nominated | [299] | ||||
| Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards | — | Outstanding Contribution to Writing | Won | [276] | ||
| 2017 | Edinburgh International Television Festival | — | Outstanding Achievement Award | Won | [277][278] | |
| 2019 | British Academy Television Craft Awards | A Very English Scandal | Writer: Drama | Nominated | [264] | |
| Royal Television Society Programme Awards | Nominated | [267] | ||||
| British Academy Television Awards | Mini-Series | Nominated | WithStephen Frears,Dominic Treadwell-Collins, and Dan Winch | [266] | ||
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie | Nominated | [138] | |||
| USC Scripter Awards | Television | Won | [269] | |||
| Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards | Best Short Form TV Drama | Won | [270] | |||
| BAFTA Cymru | Writer | Won | [268] | |||
| 2020 | Years and Years | Nominated | [271] | |||
| 2021 | It's a Sin | Won | [272] | |||
| Seoul International Drama Awards | Won | [300] | ||||
| Royal Television Society Programme Awards | — | Outstanding Achievement Award | Won | [279] | ||
| 2022 | It's a Sin | Writer: Drama | Won | [301] | ||
| British Academy Television Craft Awards | Nominated | [273] | ||||
| Broadcasting Press Guild Awards | Best Writer | Won | [302] | |||
| British Academy Television Awards | Mini-Series | Nominated | WithNicola Shindler,Peter Hoar, and Phil Collinson | [273] | ||
| Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards | Best Long Form TV Drama | Won | [274] | |||
| 2023 | BAFTA Cymru | Nolly | Writer | Won | [177] | |
| 2024 | Doctor Who | Nominated | [221] | |||
| Hugo Award | Doctor Who: "Wild Blue Yonder" | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form | Nominated | WithTom Kingsley | [231] | |
| Doctor Who: "The Giggle" | Nominated | WithChanya Button | [231] | |||
| 2025 | Doctor Who: "73 Yards" | Nominated | WithDylan Holmes Williams | [232] | ||
| Doctor Who: "Dot and Bubble" | Nominated | [232] | ||||
| Nebula Award | Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation | Nominated | [303] | |||
| BAFTA Cymru | — | Outstanding Contribution to Television | Won | [304][305] |
The RTS Programme Awards for 2003, celebrating all that is best about British Television, were presented at an Awards Dinner on 16 March 2004 hosted by Jimmy Carr.
| Preceded by | Doctor Who showrunner 2005–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Doctor Who showrunner 2023–present | Incumbent |
