David Tennant has “retired” from Doctor Who role, says Russell T Davies

“He’s absolutely not coming back.”

By Morgan Cormack

Published: Thursday, 09 May 2024 at 12:26 PM

It’s the question that Whovians have been wondering since David Tennant returned in the Doctor Who 60th anniversary episodes last year – will Tennant return to the sci-fi series in the future?

While it was an epic return for Tennant (this time as the Fourteenth Doctor), it has since been stated that there are no plans for Tennant’s Doctor to make a comeback – and now, Russell T Davies has definitely put an end to any rumours.

Chatting in an interview with The Times, Davies said of Tennant’s Fourteenth Doctor: “I think he died. I’m going to start saying that. He went to Venice, 2063, when the city sank, and he went into a whirlpool, which is really sad…”

But could Tennant make another appearance in the future? Davies revealed: “David is parked and retired and it’s all Ncuti’s show now. Genuinely.

“Not that David might be coming back — he’s absolutely not coming back.”

David Tennant and Ncuti Gatwa in Doctor Who splitting apart from each other in a bi-generation
David Tennant and Ncuti Gatwa in Doctor Who.
BBC Studios

So, that’s that, then. But it’s not all sad, as Tennant and Ncuti Gatwa did the unthinkable and pulled off an epic ‘bi-generation’ in the final 60th anniversary special.

The episode in question saw Tennant’s Fourteenth Doctor face off against the evil Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris), going on to bi-generate, meaning that Tennant’s Time Lord could co-exist at the same time as Gatwa’s.

The last we saw of him was in the Noble family’s garden enjoying some downtime and teasing some smaller adventures with Yasmin Finney’s Rose.

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But this isn’t the first time that we’ve heard about Tennant not returning to Doctor Who in the future, as he previously told Radio Times magazine: “The door is not any more open than it ever was, because in Doctor Who if you want to bring someone back, there are endless ways of doing it. It’s very much the end of the story.”

Similarly, speaking at a screening of 2023 Christmas special The Church on Ruby Road, Davies joked: “Sorry, it’s the age of Ncuti now – it’s ‘David who?’”

He added: “No plans, genuinely, yet, because it’s a busy TARDIS – these two [Gatwa and Millie Gibson as companion Ruby Sunday] are gonna just sail across the universe and capture your heart, so it’s time to look at these two.”

And it’s a busy TARDIS indeed, as Gatwa and Gibson will also be joined by Varada Sethu, who was confirmed as a new companion last month and has been pictured filming scenes for season 15.