"Queer as Folk" creator Russell T. Davies announces plans to leave "Doctor Who"

All good things must come to an end, as the cliche goes, and yesterday gay writer Russell T. Davies announced that he would soon be stepping down as Executive Producer of Doctor Who. Davies will step down after the series of specials that will air next year and another acclaimed writer, Steven Moffat, will take charge of the show for its fifth season.

Under Davies, the long-running series managed to reach new viewers, as well as reconnect with those who had been Who fans throughout the decades. Davies added some gay inclusiveness to the franchise, most notably by introducing the first bisexual companion for The Doctor (Captain Jack Harkness) and making the character (played by the openly gay John Barrowman) the lead in his own spin-off series. Davies' run has also seen gay characters pop up every so often and has given roles to openly gay actors like Andrew Hayden-Smith and Russell Tovey as well as actors best known for playing gay like Coronation Street's Bruno Langley and Ryan Carnes of Desperate Housewives and Eating Out.

Hayden-Smith, Tovey, Langley and Carnes in their Doctor Who roles

Davies also gave Who a gay sensibility. Under Davies, The Doctor's companions have included gay icons such as British pop diva Billie Piper, comedienne Catherine Tate and pop legend Kylie Minogue. Davies' Who run also saw parodies of British reality TV (including gay fave Big Brother), sonic weaponry disguised as lipstick and last Christmas' special, "Voyage of the Damned", which was heavily influenced by The Poseidon Adventure.

What's next for Davies isn't clear yet. He will be working on the second season of Doctor Who's kid-oriented spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures, but fans of Davies' other Who spin-off, Torchwood, are still waiting to hear the details of the third season (though there will be one). Last October, Davies announced plans to develop a series about the experiences of fourtysomething gay men, but Davies warned that show was "years away," citing his busy schedule. Will quitting Who give Davies time to focus on this new project?

As for the new man in charge of Who, Moffat is a promising pick. Not only has he written some of the most popular episodes of the new Who run, including the episode that introduced Captain Jack ("The Empty Child"). Moffat's history includes a bit of gay inclusiveness as well.

His battle-of-the-sexes comedy Coupling comfortably touched on queer issues frequently, especially with the scene stealing character of Jane, who identified as bisexual while demonstrating complete cluelessness to issues of sexual orientation. In Jekyll, an update of the classic story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a detective lesbian couple played a prominent role.

Considering Moffat's tendency to use performers he's worked with in the past, I think I'm going to start a letter writing campaign to get Gina Bellman as a Doctor Who regular.