Ninth Doctor actor Christopher Eccleston reveals his brutal conditions for returning to Doctor Who. Eccleston was the first actor to portray the Doctor in its modern era following its revival in 2005. While he successfully brought the iconic Time Lord back to the screen, he abruptly departed the show after just one season, leading to David Tennant taking over the role. Of all the actors who have portrayed the Doctor in its revival era, Eccleston served the shortest stint and declined to return during its anniversary specials.
While speaking at For The Love Of Sci-Fi 2023 (via The Direct), Eccleston laid out the brutal conditions for his return to Doctor Who. He didn’t mince his words as he called for the show to fire various executives behind the show, namely returning showrunner Russell T. Davies. Only if all these major Doctor Who and BBC executives are sacked will Eccleston return to the show. Check out his statement below:
Sack Russell T Davies. Sack Jane Tranter. Sack Phil Collinson. Sack Julie Gardner. And I’ll come back. So can you arrange that?
After the Chibnall shit-show, they might as well try it his way. Davies and #14 couldn’t undo the damage, and #15 is looking at a battle so uphill it might as well be a wall.
I think the run of specials started to repair the harm done and Ncuti Gatwa really hit the ground running so I am hopeful. However, on his first run with Who, RTD’s episodes were a real rollercoaster on the quality front (especially obvious in Eccleston’s run - I can’t really blame him for walking away) and I am concerned that you can throw a big budget and a great actor at the problem but if there’s not ruthless quality control (and some solid writers - what saved my interest in nu-Who during his run) then it could be a real mess that harms the series - “if they can’t deliver quality with that budget then why bother?”. It may be we won’t see the ship properly turned around until we get a new showrunner but I am prepared to be proven wrong
The decision is also colored by Tennant absolutely killing it right afterward. Kind of a Tasha Yar situation. With hindsight of even just a few episodes, fans wonder why anyone would leave such a great show, but the actors saw a year of rough production and did not expect things to get better.
I’m not sure it was mentioned anywhere else but doing Dr Who messed up Eccleston’s physical and mental health really badly. His terms aren’t harsh, they’re a poison pill for the people he thinks abused him during his run.
I worry for Gatwa’s career. I’m not doubting his value as an actor, but every actor is only as good as the writing. Being picked as the Doctor’s next incarnation is a massive spotlight. If Davies and the writers drop the ball and can’t deliver the show from the #13 low point, he’ll also have to carry that stigma.
I reckon he’ll be fine no matter what - he got acclaim for Sex Education and Doctor Who has already demonstrated his leading man potential. A good casting director won’t be worried if the scripts let him down. Jodie Whittaker is going to do just fine despite the really poor quality scripts. However, it might not act as the launchpad for a career in America as it has done for Tennant and Smith. So it won’t bury him but it might not boost him either.