Doctor Who bags first-ever Emmy nomination after 62 years

The Emmy nominations 2025 were revealed yesterday (Tuesday 15 July), and among the reasons to celebrate is that Doctor Who earned its first-ever nomination after a whopping 62 years!

The long-running BBC sci-fi series, which first ran from 1963 to 1989 and then from 2005 onwards, has never been nominated for a Primetime Emmy award, which is shocking given the calibre of performances over the years.

On Tuesday (15 July, it was announced that the series received one nomination in the 2025 class for Outstanding Choreography For Scripted Programming. This was for the routine “There’s Always A Twist” which came in the episode “The Devil’s Chord.”

That episode saw The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) defeat Maestro (Jinkx Monsoon) and celebrate with a dance. The dance was choreographed by Jack Murphy with Bad Wolf, the production company, as well as BBC Studio and Disney Branded Television also being named by the Emmys in the nomination.

Before this, the only Emmy nomination for anything related to Doctor Who was in 2020 when the virtual reality game Doctor Who: The Runaway was nominated for Outstanding Derivative Interactive Program.

Gatwa’s time as the Time Lord recently came to a premature end with the actor saying over the weekend he left because he found the role “strenuous.” He added, “It takes a lot out of you, physically, emotionally, mentally, and so it was time.”

Gatwa had been expected to do at least another season as The Doctor, and his departure led to producers changing tack. At the end of the last episode of the latest season The Doctor regenerated into Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler.

The 2025 Emmy nom also comes as fans eagerly await an update on the future of the show. Tom Fussel, the CEO of BBC Studios recently said that the company is “really committed to Doctor Who and is continuing to look at ways in which we can bring the show to fans” as reported by Deadline. He also said that Disney is a “crucial” partner, hinting at a possible blocker in why we haven’t yet got an update on any future seasons.

Doctor Who showrunner and writer Russell T Davies recently addressed the future of the beloved British sci-fi series. In a column for Doctor Who Magazine, Davies said he isn’t sure what will happen next, but is confident that it “will never end.”

Doctor Who is streaming now on BBC iPlayer and Disney+ internationally.

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