In 2013, BBC aired “Day of the Doctor,” a special episode of Doctor Who that brought together not two, not three, but four actors who have played the Doctor. Then-current Doctor Matt Smith was there, joined by former Doctor David Tennant. We also met John Hurt’s War Doctor and even got a sneak peak at Peter Capaldi as the upcoming Twelfth Doctor. It was a celebration of Doctor Who past and present, and is remembered by fans to this day.
This episode was made to mark the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. And now, hard as it is to believe, we’re coming up on the 60th anniversary of this venerated British sci-fi show, and BBC is hard at work on mounting another reunion episode.
Who will show up for the new special? We don’t know, but we can point to one guy who very probably won’t be there: Christopher Eccleston, who played the Ninth Doctor when the show came back from its year-long hiatus in 2005. Although most actors who play the Doctor stick around for a few seasons, Eccleston left after only one due to difficulties behind the scenes. And it sounds like he still has some issues with the show, or at least with these types of big anniversary show.
“I’ve never been a fan of multi-Doctor stories,” he told fans fans at the Australian convention Supanova, explaining why he doesn’t appear in any reunion specials. “When I worked on the series, I had really strong ideas about what works and what doesn’t, and I always think that multi-Doctor stories are a bit of a cash-in, and a bit of exploitation. Creatively, they never worked for me.”
"I looked at the script for the 50th anniversary and I felt as soon as I said I wasn’t doing it it got better because, well, if I’m not in it, it’s better."
I love how honest and open Eccleston is being here. I don’t even really agree with him — sure, Doctor Who reunion specials exist to drum up hype and make money, but you could say that about pretty much any episode of any TV show; the specials are a bit of fun fan service and I can plainly see why other Doctor Who actors would be happy to return for them. But I get a huge kick out of Eccleston’s willingness to say this kind of thing; I think most actors would keep those thoughts to themselves.
Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor is back…in audio form
That said, Christopher Eccleston has returned as the Ninth Doctor, just not onscreen. Last year, he featured in a series of audio adventures from Big Finish set before his first appearance on the show. And he’s back this year in a new series of audio adventures titled Old Friends.
But will we ever see the Ninth Doctor back on TV? If it happens, it won’t be alongside other Doctors. “The Ninth Doctor, in particular, is a one-man band. Definitely,” Ecceston said. “So he doesn’t work with other Doctors. If you want me back, you’d get me on my own.”
The next Doctor Who episode, Legend of the Sea Devils, features Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor. It will air over Easter weekend.
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h/t Radio Times