| The following article is written from an Out of Universe perspective. |
The Franchise Executive or the Senior Executive Producer is a job-title, which has been given, officially, to a leading member of the Doctor Who Production Staff, since it's creation in 2011. Until 2020, the title was uncredited on-screen, the holder was given the credit of an executive producer instead.
The role undertaken by the Franchise Executive had previously been handled by the producer, executive producer, or the showrunner of Doctor Who. Former Doctor Who staff members, such as Verity Lambert, Barry Letts, John Nathan-Turner, David Renwick and Gary Russell, to name just a few, could all have been considered to have fulfilled the position.
The job itself, involved overlooking the Doctor Who franchise, in general, not just the main show, but also spinoffs and movies, as well as any other licensed content or merchandise.
History
The reason the position became official in 2011, was due to the fact that Doctor Who would be taking a break, itself, in 2012 and 2013, and between two production teams. Ira Steven Behr was selected by the BBC and CBS as the first Franchise Executive, to guide the franchise between the transition from Chapters 3 and 4, including supervising Panopticon seasons 5-7, the entirety of Cold Front, as well as both Doctor Who: Endgame and Doctor Who: Genesis. When the new Chapter Four production team began work in 2013, Ira Steven Behr was asked to stay on, although he only remained in the job until 2015. The position was then filled by Moore himself, officially, supervising Doctor Who, the Elysium and any other projects in development. Moore remained in the role until 2017, When he was fired due to his work on Doctor Who, Jane Espenson was appointed by the BBC to replace him in which she oversaw the majority of Season 52, as well as Season 53, and the first four episodes of Season 54, while also overseeing the final two seasons of The Elysium, Doctor Who: Until the World Ends, and the first seasons of Doctor Misterio, Doctor Who: Through Time and Space, Mysteriet Doktorn, as well as the first two seasons of Dokter Wie. Espenson was then demoted from the position of Franchise Executive to the Executive Supervisor of Television by now ViacomCBS and the BBC; Mal Young replaced her in the role of the Franchise Executive in mid 2020.