David Tennant’s new Doctor is “slightly more human” than his old one

David Tennant last appeared as the Tenth Doctor on Doctor Who in 2013, when he acted alongside Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith for a Doctor Who special. Ten years later, he’s playing the Doctor again, but not the Tenth. Tennant will now play the Fourteenth Doctor, becoming the first actor to play two different iterations of the iconic character.

This is uncharted territory for the show, which is saying something, because Doctor Who has been on since the 1960s. Is the Fourteenth Doctor the same as the Tenth, or is this someone new?

Speaking to SFX Magazine the other week, showrunner Russell T Davies reassured fans that the Doctor wouldn’t be changed too much. “I wouldn’t expect vast differences, because there’s no way you bring back one of the world’s most popular Doctors and make him different!” he said. Then again, speaking to Digital Spy, Davies said that the Fourteenth Doctor is “slightly more human” than the Tenth.

That’s a pretty cryptic way of putting it; I doubt we’ll see exactly what Russell means until the new episodes start airing. It may have something to do with how Tennant has grown as an actor in the meantime. “[O]f course he’s got new spins and new depths to it. When you get to work with someone like that, you don’t need to worry,” Davies said.

Davies is largely responsible for reviving Doctor Who back in 2005, which kicked off with Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor. Having him back in the driver’s seat all these years later feels surreal in the best way; he produced a lot of excellent episodes and I’m sure fans are looking forward to what he does next.

Apparently, writing for Tennant’s Doctor again came very naturally to Davies. “I didn’t even go and watch an old episode on iPlayer because they never quite go really… those big characters don’t go from your head. They keep on ticking away,” he said.

Davies also seems to have a great sense of Doctor Who’s place in the wider culture, which gives me even more confidence that he’ll do right by the show as it enters this new era. “There’s an extraordinary thing with Doctor Who, which is with the crew and a lot of the cast, their children watch it,” he said. “It gets passed on down generations and I love that and I think the crew are very much aware that they’re part of a history that their kids will be watching or their kids’ kids will be watching, and that creates a really lovely atmosphere on set.”

David Tennant returns in a series of three Doctor Who specials starting on November 25. Then, in the new year, Ncuti Gatwa will take over as the Fifteenth Doctor for a proper new season.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels