Christopher Eccleston’s time on Doctor Who is still a topic of much speculation. He helped bring the program back as the Ninth Doctor, but departed after one season. There have been a few conflicting reports as to what caused him to leave the show, but whatever it was, Eccleston has refused to return to the show in any fashion. Indeed, the Ninth Doctor was conspicuous in his absence from the 50th Anniversary Special, as the stock footage of him commanding the TARDIS truly does not count as his making an appearance.
However, despite any bad blood that may have existed between Eccleston and the powers that be on Doctor Who, one would have hoped that it would not have affected his fandom. Well, in a way, this is correct. Unfortunately, this is because Eccleston seems to have never really been much of a fan of the show prior to being the Doctor.
In an interview with Radio Times, not only did Eccleston admit that he has never really watched himself as the Doctor, but that he did not really watch the show growing up. This came when Eccleston was asked if he had watched Peter Capaldi’s incarnation of the Doctor, one that seems to be a spiritual cousin to his own portrayal of the character.
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In a way, this may not be that much of a surprise. After all, it is much easier to walk away from something that one does not enjoy. Yet, given that Christopher Eccleston was the Doctor, and was the Doctor at the time when the show was coming back after an extended hiatus, one would have thought that he would have gone back and watched some of the classic episodes to get a sense for the character.
As it turns out, that was not the case. Perhaps this was for the best, as by not being a fan of Doctor Who previously, Eccleston was able to bring a completely unique feel to the character. Instead of being influenced by previous incarnations, and doing different homages to those that had the role before him, Eccleston made the Doctor his own entity. Unfortunately, his time on the show lasted but that one season, as it would have been interesting to see what more the Ninth Doctor would have become.
Maybe this lack of fandom towards Doctor Who exacerbated the situation when Christopher Eccleston felt that it was time to leave. Regardless of the reason, it is certainly interesting to see that Eccleston does not watch Doctor Who, and really never has.