A NEW series of Dr Who may never be made, a BBC executive has revealed.
A decision on the future of the latest doctor, Paul McGann, is expected early next year but the programme's galactic prognosis is not good.
Dr Who was voted favourite popular drama by viewers this year at the BBC's 60th-anniversary awards but a corporation chief says the BBC can't afford to make a top-quality series on its own
The main reason is that the £3million Paul McGann Dr Who TV movie shown in May wasn't a big enough hit in the US.
The BBC had a co-production deal with US giant Universal Television. It was agreed that if the US ratings were large enough, the companies would make a follow-up TV series with the same cast. But it was watched by only 8.3million viewers in the US after clashing with hit comedy Roseanne.
A senior BBC executive said: It was an expensive movie to make and we would have to maintain that high standard in a new TV series.
"But we wouldn't throw that amount of money at a series without a financing partner."
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