Christopher Eccleston has outlined the road to his comeback to Doctor Who, which includes the dismissal of showrunner Russell T Davies.
The renowned actor, 60, played the 9th Doctor opposite Billie Piper as Rose Tyler in the 2005 revival of Doctor Who.
Russell was in charge at the time, and he is now back as showrunner for the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary, starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate, as well as the next season, in which Ncuti Gatwa portrays the 15th Doctor.
Christopher departed The Doctor after only one season and has always stated that there were difficulties on set that he was dissatisfied with, though complete specifics have never been revealed.
Now, as several characters from the show returned for the anniversary specials, the Come Home actor has been questioned if he would ever do the same.
During a recent discussion for the fan conference For The Love Of Sci-Fi, the star was asked ‘what would have to happen’ for him to reprise his role as the Doctor.
To which Christopher answered: ‘Sack Russell T Davies.’
He then named executive producers for the show, going on without hesitation: ‘Sack Jane Tranter. Sack Phil Collinson. Sack Julie Gardner.
‘And I’ll come back. So, can you arrange that?’
His former co-star Billie, who was also on the panel, merely made an odd expression.
He went on to clarify that while he ‘loves being associated’ with the Doctor and Doctor Who as a whole, ‘I just don’t like being associated with those people and the politics that went on with the first series.’
‘The first series was a mess, and it wasn’t to do with me or Billie [Piper]. It was to do with the people who were supposed to make it, and it was a mess.’
It has long been thought Christopher would never return to his role as the 9th Doctor, with the actor previously quoted as saying: ‘I left because my relationship with Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Phil Collinson completely broke down during the shooting of the first series.
‘I think it’s fair to say… that the first series nobody knows what they’re doing and the politics are raging. The shooting of the first series was a nightmare.’
He added to Radio Times in 2018: ‘They lost trust in me, and I lost faith and trust and belief in them.’
Russell himself previously said he did not want to get into a ‘tit for tat’ exchange with the actor, but told SFX the ‘duty of care towards him will extend for the rest of our lives. He will always be my Doctor, and I will always be his producer.’
The showrunner also praised Christopher’s performance, saying: ‘The thing I’ve got to say is that Chris is a magnificent actor and a magnificent man – he’s truly a leader of men – and he was a magnificent Doctor Who as well.
‘You forget what a brave move it was to take the part on when the press were quoting people like Paul Daniels as the next Doctor. It was a huge leap for Chris to make, and I love what he did.’
Fans of Christopher’s gloriously boisterous Doctor will be pleased to know that, while he is unlikely to return to the screen, he did reprise the character for a Big Finish audio drama.
He said at the time: ‘It will be exciting to revisit the Ninth Doctor’s world, bringing back to life a character I love playing.’
Executive producer Nick Briggs added of his performance: ‘He’s really joyous about it.
‘He said within two minutes of doing it, he was back in the zone, back there with the character.’
Christopher’s most recent comments come after former Doctor Who star John Barrowman hit out on social media with a message for people who are ‘constantly s******g on me.’
‘You want to comment about something you think you know everything about but actually know nothing, because you were not there,’ he wrote.
‘The event you all constantly refer to, like you know what happened, is not in anyway what happened.’
John did not make clear what he was referring to, however two years ago he admitted ‘exposing himself’ on the sets of Doctor Who and Torchwood, apologising for ‘tomfoolery’.
Two former runners alleged that while on set, Barrowman would ‘would get his genitals out on a regular basis’, although stressed that it was ‘larking about’ and not sexually predatory behaviour.
Source My Celebrity Life.