David Tennant says his Doctor Who return is “unlike any episode ever”

These are very exciting times for Doctor Who fans! Between the return of David Tennant and the arrival of Ncuti Gatwa as the next brand new Doctor, there’s a lot happening right now. With the trio of 60th Anniversary specials airing next month — these specials will feature not only sees the return of David Tennant and Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), but also Russell T. Davies as showrunner — fans are very eager to see what’s in store.

Producers needed something very special to entice David Tennant out of his Whoniverse retirement. Speaking to Empire Magazine, Tennant shared his enthusiasm to get back on set. “It’s like the band getting back together for one last hurrah,” he said.

Tennant originally played the Tenth Doctor between 2005 and 2010. But in these specials, he will be playing the Fourteenth. “That was the first exciting piece of mischief that Russell created,” Tennant said. “That I was going to be Doctor No. 14 rather than Doctor No. 10 again. You’ll just have to wait and see why the 14th Doctor is so much like the 10th.”

Tennant doesn’t want to give away too much, but says that these specials are “unlike any Doctor Who episode ever” and that they represent “Russell off the leash.”

Behind-the-scenes footage of David Tennant leaving Doctor Who…and coming back

To get people excited, the official Doctor Who YouTube channel has been dropping behind-the-scenes videos of David Tennant as the Doctor through the years. First up, we have some footage of him on the set after he filmed his final scene as the Tenth Doctor, for the 2010 episode “The End of Time.” After he was done, the crew lured him back in front of the camera to send him off proper:

And then, 10 years later, in the 2022 episode “The Power of the Doctor,” Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor regenerated into…David Tennnat, back for more! We also got some footage of Tennant filming this regeneration:

“What? What?!” Says it all.

Russell T Davies is there, too, reassuring fans that he’s not pulling a fast one on them with this plot twist. “He is the Fourteenth Doctor,” Davies said. “He’s not a trick Doctor, he’s not a pretend Doctor…He is genuinely the Fourteenth Doctor. There’s something subtler going on that does get revealed.”

Doctor Who photo shows off the Doctor’s new sonic screwdriver

In a new photo shared by the BBC on Instagram, we see the Doctor and Donna in an attic, and the Doctor is pointing his new sonic screwdriver at something. Whatever could it be? That attic sure looks like the one from the trailer where Donna meets Meep!

The 60th Anniversary specials of Doctor Who don’t have a release date yet, but they are confirmed to air sometime in November 2023. Not long now, folks!

Ncuti Gatwa begins filming his second season as the Fifteenth Doctor

And then, after that, we’ll see Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor, who will have his own set of adventures starting in 2024. He’ll stick around longer than Tennant. In fact, today, it was revealed that Gatwa has already begun filming another season of Doctor Who beyond the first one we haven’t seen yet!

So Doctor Who is planning for the long game. This new era begins soon.

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