Russell T Davies blasts BBC boss’s ‘clumsy’ Doctor Who remarks after starting from scratch

Russell T Davies has blasted BBC boss Matt Brittin like an angry Dalek after he made a ‘clumsy’ remark about an AI-generated episode of Doctor Who.

Brittin, who took over as the BBC’s new director general in May this year, came under fire last month after saying he’d seen a ‘pretty good’ episode of Doctor Who which had been generated by AI.

The Beeb boss later joked at a staff town hall that he’d ‘got in trouble’ for his comments, but people failed to see the funny side.

Now former Doctor Who showrunner Davies has waded into the debate, offering his own two pence on the matter, and he’s not happy.

‘That’s a clumsy thing to say in an industry where he’s got writers and artists, and it specifically affects people; they’re the first to take the blow,’ Davies told BBC Radio 4’s The Media Show programme.

The Tip Toe creator then suggested that Brittin, who ‘hasn’t worked in television for that long,’ might not be so ‘fruity with an opinion in future’.

Davies then joked that his inbox was pinging after Brittin made the comments, adding: ‘God knows what his was like.’

During the same interview, Davies also commented on other writers using AI in their scripts.

“I have heard stories of some writers using AI prompts to do a first draft, which I find shockingm,’ he explaind. ‘I think what are you paid for otherwise? What are you there to do?’

The 63-year-old also admitted to being worried that the technology could be used to replace writers in the future.

Brittin has been clear with BBC staff that the corporation would always put human-led creativity at the heart of its mission.

‘I was just trying to make the point: Look at the pace of change and what this stuff can do,’ he clarified.

‘I want to be really clear: Humans are leading, and I believe in human creativity, enhanced by whatever tools.”

It should be noted as well that Davies hasn’t always been so sceptical about AI.

Last year, Doctor Who fans complained about the writer after he shared an artificially generated clip of William Hartnell on Instagram.

The video featured a fake time traveller who claimed to have travelled back in time to watch them film the first episode of Doctor Who.

After Davies posted the clip, several fans criticised the decision. Matthew Purchase shared the post on X with the caption: ‘Oh god. RTD likes AI slop.’

‘Literal slop and I don’t know why RTD would post that,’ added Sammy.

YouTuber Josh Snares, meanwhile, said it proved Davies was out of touch with the fans.

Still, perhaps Davies has simply learned from the blowback that people really don’t like AI slop.