David Tennant's upcoming return as the Tenth Doctor for a series of Doctor Who audio adventures has reignited the topic of if and when his Fourteenth Doctor will ever show up again. In a recent interview with Doctor Who Magazine, (via RadioTimes) Tennant discussed the possibility of reprising the role of his most recent iteration of the famous Time Lord, and while doing so, learned something surprising about the character. Furthermore, it made me wonder if the BBC has already broken its own rule. If they have, I don't think they even realize it.
Although the Scottish actor confirmed he's "up for anything that's suggested" to do with the Fourteenth Doctor, the conversation took an interesting turn when it shifted onto the topic of how the character is so strongly policed. Other than the trilogy of Disney-era specials, that Children in Need short with Davros (Julian Bleach), and a few bits and pieces in Doctor Who Magazine from around the same time, Fourteen was seemingly never intended to come back — regardless of the medium. That means no audio adventures, no novels, nothing. Maybe the BBC needs to do a Fourteenth Doctor audit.
The Fourteenth Doctor also appears in a 2023 Doctor Who book of festive short stories
"It's interesting," Tennant says. "I didn't know that there was a sort of embargo on any other worlds for that particular strain of the character." Well, it seems one rogue Fourteenth Doctor story slipped through the cracks. Published in October 2023, Ten Days of Christmas: Festive Tales With the Tenth Doctor added original adventures for Tennant's original version of the Time Lord, as well as a handful of thoughtfully written follow-ups to festive Tenth Doctor TV episodes.
However, writer Steve Cole got especially creative with things. The book's opening story, "Under Control," initially seems like it's a Tenth Doctor story. The way Cole describes how the Doctor looks and speaks, paired with the book's very concept, gave me no reason to doubt that this was Ten moving through the story. It's the only one to end on a cliffhanger, but especially impatient readers can skip past all the other stories and pick up with "Into Control." During the conclusion, Cole gradually reveals that it's actually Fourteen in the two-parter, not Ten. Sneaky.
Although only the live-action TV shows generally count toward the official Doctor Who canon, the limited Fourteenth Doctor chronology means there's nothing really in that Christmas two-parter that stops it from being part of the official continuity. That said, my theory is that the BBC could claim it doesn't break the self-imposed embargo because it was released in such close proximity to Tennant's first proper appearance as Fourteen. As such, it can be lumped together with the 60th anniversary celebrations that Fourteen was introduced to mark. That said, the complete lack of Fourteenth Doctor adventures since he settled into life with the Nobles would seem to suggest the embargo has been watertight since then.
Should the BBC lift the Fourteenth Doctor embargo?
I'm probably biased because I grew up watching David Tennant as the Doctor, and I don't think anyone has done it better since him. So, if I'm speaking with my heart, then Fourteen should absolutely be permitted to run riot across the Doctor Who franchise. Sadly, the more I think about it, saner heads should probably prevail.
Fourteen was little more than a way to allow Tennant to come back and lead the show for the 60th anniversary, which was much needed after the divisive Chris Chibnall era. As I understand it, the plan was originally for Tennant to play Ten again in 2023, and for those episodes to be flashbacks to the actor's original era of Doctor Who. The fact that Tennant had aged a little since then (albeit very well) made that plan somewhat illogical.
Still, it was great that a canonical way was found to bring him back for one last ride. I fully understand the Fourteen embargo, because Tennant's time as Ten still allows him to have a strong connection to the franchise, which some fans interpret as overexposure of a specific iteration of the Doctor. If Fourteen were given the same freedom to come and go as he pleased, then even I would admit that it would be Tennant overkill. Plus, with Doctor Who currently struggling to get back into production, it needs to prove it can survive without leaning on Tennant — tempting though it might be.
Doctor Who has been put out to tender by the BBC and is currently out of production until a new collaborator is found to replace Bad Wolf Studios and Disney.
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