Doctor Who: BBC1 will not screen a full series in 2012

BBC1 will not screen a full series of Doctor Who in 2012 because of showrunner Steven Moffat's writing commitments with Sherlock, channel controller Danny Cohen has confirmed. The BBC confirmed earlier in June that 14 new Doctor Who episodes have been commissioned – a 13-part series plus a Christmas special, although the scheduling plan remained unclear. However, not all the commissioned episodes will be broadcast in 2012, with the next series split between next year and 2013, when Doctor Who will celebrate its 50th birthday. "He [Moffat] needs enough time to get that [Sherlock] done and then start work on the next series of Doctor Who," Cohen told the 2011 Church and Media conference on Tuesday, according to a BBC News report . "There will be some episodes, but there won't be a full series, so we won't have a 13-part run [in 2012]," he added. Moffat, as well as being Doctor Who's showrunner and one of its executive producers, is an executive producer and co-writer on Sherlock, along with Mark Gatiss. "There's only so many hours a day he can be awake. The man has to sleep and eat, and he's got a family," Cohen said. "Steven Moffat is the creative driving force behind Doctor Who. He also, rather magically at the same time, created and got to air Sherlock. So we have to get that balance right. "There'll be more episodes again in 2013, for the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. So that's a big year." However, Moffat appeared to dispute Cohen's comments in a tweet on Thursday . "The scheduling of Dr Who has got NOTHING to with Sherlock. On the plus side THE BBC SPELLED MY NAME RIGHT!!!!" This year's series of Doctor Who has been split in two, with the initial run of seven episodes ending on a cliffhanger earlier in June and the remaining six instalments to be broadcast on BBC1 in the autumn. • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook .