Christopher Eccleston is returning to the role of the Ninth Doctor in an audio adventure for Big Finish. As for the actual show, though…
Doctor Who has long since become more than just a television series. In this past year alone, we’ve had short stories, audio adventures, comics and Time Lord Victorious, a multimedia adventure that incorporates a little of everything.
Many Doctor Who alums have lent their voices to audio stories specifically, including Christoper Eccleston, who kicked off the Doctor Who revival by playing the Ninth Doctor. His Doctor Who audio adventure with Big Finish will be out in May of 2021.
That said, reprising his role as the Doctor in an audio adventure and playing him again on TV — as several other former Doctors have done — are very different things. During an appearance on ITV, Lorraine Kelly started hinting at ways Eccleston could reappear on the show, but he made his stance pretty clear:
"I know what you’re getting at. Only when hell freezes over, as the Eagles sang."
It’s true that Eccleston has been hesitant to play the Doctor again, not joining actors David Tennant (the Tenth Doctor), Matt Smith (the Eleventh Doctor) and John Hurt (the War Doctor) for the show’s 50th anniversary special.
On the other hand, his comment about the Eagles album Hell Freezes Over is interesting, because that album was named for something band member Don Henley said about a possible reunion about 14 years before it happened. It’s been 14 years since Eccleston played the Doctor. Coincidence?
And while you’re speculating about that, don’t forget that the new Doctor Who holiday special is just weeks away from airing. Showrunner Chris Chibnall spoke with Radio Times about the meaning of the title, “Revolution of the Daleks”:
"There are loads of different ways you can interpret that title, whether it’s a Dalek revolution, or whether there’s a revolution involving Daleks…"
That doesn’t give us much to go on, but luckily the episode is airing on New Year’s Day, which is just around the corner!
I can see a lot of potential meanings for the title. Remember that the Doctor is currently locked up in a prison in space; it just might take a revolution to break her out of there!
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h/t Bleeding Cool, Digital Spy