Oh, Rusty
From here (emphasis mine):
[...]Julie Gardner, the head of drama at BBC Wales, explained that working with Doctor Who's executive producer and lead writer Russell T Davies was key in the development of Merlin.
"I learned so much about the 7pm slot from Russell T Davies' Doctor Who scripts and from his approach as an executive producer to that particular slot," she revealed. "Russell's been a huge supporter of Merlin. He immediately saw its potential and proved invaluable in early discussions about how to shape the series for Saturday night."
Suddenly, so much about this show makes sense.
[...]Julie Gardner, the head of drama at BBC Wales, explained that working with Doctor Who's executive producer and lead writer Russell T Davies was key in the development of Merlin.
"I learned so much about the 7pm slot from Russell T Davies' Doctor Who scripts and from his approach as an executive producer to that particular slot," she revealed. "Russell's been a huge supporter of Merlin. He immediately saw its potential and proved invaluable in early discussions about how to shape the series for Saturday night."
Suddenly, so much about this show makes sense.