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?
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.