Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies has issued some doom-and-gloom thinking behind why the hit sci-fi series needed to partner with Disney+.

Speaking to the They Like to Watch podcast, the storied British showrunner declared that the BBC is “somehow, surely, undoubtedly on its way out in some shape or form,” and additional cash and partners were therefore necessary for Doctor Who.

“I had already said in interviews that I think Doctor Who will have to become a co-pro, there’s no way the BBC is going to fund that,”he said. “You’ve also got to look in the long term at the end of the BBC, which is somehow, surely, undoubtedly on its way in some shape or form. What is Doctor Who going to do then? You have to prepare for that.”

It’s a Sin and Years and Years showrunner Davies has been a passionate supporter of the BBC for decades and a virulent critic of the Conservative government, often calling out the government for the way in which it has let BBC budgets flounder.

Doctor Who was handed a huge cash injection via the Disney+ deal, which also saw His Dark Materials studio Bad Wolf brought aboard as co-producer alongside BBC Studios – a Davies-set condition before he rejoined for his second stint as showrunner. The show will launch simultaneously on the BBC and Disney+ in May with new doctor Ncuti Gatwa at the helm.

Davies was speaking in the week that Director General Tim Davie delivered a set-piece speech about the future of the corporation in which he hailed the Doctor Who deal for being “a good example of how we can work to deliver more value through third-party funding, while protecting content for UK audiences.”