“That Doctor Who Experience lost a lot of money,” Davies explained. “That’s not a secret, it just did”. “I loved it – it was brilliant, it was so lavish… no wonder it lost money. So it’s kind of ‘once bitten, twice shy’.”

Davies said that he and the creative forces behind Doctor Who will “see how successful it becomes” before committing to any franchise expansions.

“If it starts to get the kids watching, if it starts to sell the toys, if it starts creating demand, then it’ll start to happen. Right now, it’s a difficult time for that.”

Davies did add, though, that “the early signs are great” for the new era of Doctor Who, which stars Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and sees the BBC partner with Disney for global distribution of the series.

The new season of Doctor Who is set to launch on 11th May in the UK, with the first two episodes available on iPlayer from midnight, with a BBC One broadcast following later on Saturday evening.

Millie Gibson will star opposite Gatwa’s Doctor as new companion Ruby Sunday, while other returning cast will include Jemma Redgrave (Kate Stewart), Anita Dobson (Mrs Flood), Michelle Greenidge (Carla Sunday), Yasmin Finney (Rose Noble), and Bonnie Langford (Mel Bush).

Joining the returnees will be new guest cast including Aneurin Barnard, Jinkx Monsoon, Indira Varma, and Lenny Rush.

Ex-showrunner Steven Moffat will also be back to write episode 3 of the eight-part series.