As the time-travelling Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble, the pair presided over a popular and critically-acclaimed era for Doctor Who still fondly remembered by fans. And now, according to the BBC, they are set to reunite with screenwriter Russell T Davies to film new \u201cscenes that are due to air in 2023,\u201d coinciding with Doctor Who\u2019s 60th anniversary celebrations.<\/p>\n
However, they declined to give more details about how or why the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble will make their comeback, or how many episodes or specials they\u2019ll appear in. It could be that these scenes are little more than a cameo, or they could be a major comeback. For now, they\u2019re keeping it all a bit mysterious.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Doctor and Donna parted ways when the Doctor had to wipe Donna\u2019s memory, making her forget him, in order to save her life,\u201d the BBC said in a release. \u201cHe left her family with a warning: if ever she remembers, she will die. But with the two coming face to face once more, the big question is, just what brings the Doctor and Donna back together?\u201d<\/p>
\u201cThey\u2019re back!\u201d returning Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies said in a statement. \u201cAnd it looks impossible \u2013 first, we announce a new Doctor, and then an old Doctor, along with the wonderful Donna, what on earth is happening? Maybe this is a missing story. Or a parallel world. Or a dream, or a trick, or a flashback.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only thing I can confirm is that it\u2019s going to be spectacular, as two of our greatest stars reunite for the battle of a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shock announcement comes despite the casting of new Doctor Ncuti Gatwa<\/a>, with the Scottish-Rwandan actor announced as the new star of the series in a surprise tweet in early May. It\u2019s unclear how Tennant and Tate\u2019s return will impact Gatwa\u2019s arrival \u2013 it could be that they\u2019ll appear alongside him in a special, or that they\u2019ll star in an episode to be released before he takes over the top job.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also unclear whether any of this will be tied up in this autumn\u2019s Doctor Who centenary special, which will mark the departure of current Doctor Jodie Whittaker as well as the BBC\u2019s 100th birthday. Gatwa was expected to emerge at the end of that episode \u2013 but now, that timeline could be cast into doubt depending on how these new Tennant scenes are slotted in.<\/p>\n Either way, it\u2019s an exciting time for Doctor Who fans as the show approaches its anniversary year. Rumours have swirled about Tennant and\/or Tate\u2019s return for some time, with both actors denying or dodging the reports when confronted with them in recent weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, it would be quite a weird idea and it\u2019s not something that you\u2019d necessarily expect from Doctor Who,\u201d Tennant told fans at a convention. \u201cThat\u2019s all I can\u2026 I\u2019m not going to try giving any more than that because what\u2019s the point?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat can I tell you? No, I wish it was [true],\u201d Tate added while appearing on The One Show. \u201cWell, no one\u2019s been in touch. I\u2019m on the same number, I\u2019d just like to say. So, if you\u2019ve got the money, I\u2019ve got the time.\u201d<\/p>\n Gatwa\u2019s casting seemed to put the lid on these rumours briefly \u2013 but now the gossip turns out to have been true all along. Doctor Who fans are getting a new Doctor and<\/em> an old favourite. Quite the birthday present for the 60th anniversary year.<\/p>\n Still, perhaps we should have seen this coming \u2013 after all, David Tennant and Catherine Tate have clearly never lost their appetite for Doctor Who. Originally, Tennant was cast as the replacement for Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston in 2005 and went on to collaborate with screenwriter Davies on three series and a lot<\/em> of specials before handing on the role to Matt Smith in 2010.<\/p>\n Since then he\u2019s starred in a number of TV series and films including Des, Jessica Jones, Around the World in 80 Days and Staged \u2013 but he\u2019s also kept a hand in with the Whoniverse. Tennant returned for the 50th anniversary special in 2013, and has continued to play the Doctor in various audio dramas and computer games since leaving the live-action show.<\/p>\n Tate\u2019s had a similar trajectory. After starring as temp-turned-planetary saviour Donna Noble in the 2008 series and three specials, Tate departed the series for good in early 2010. However, she also returned to the role for a Big Finish audio drama alongside Tennant in 2016, delivering a vocal performance for more Doctor\/Donna adventures. In other words, they\u2019ve kept playing the Doctor and Donna for years \u2013 all they\u2019re doing now is making it official.<\/p>\n Altogether, it looks like 2023 is set to be a banner year for Doctor Who. With new Doctors, old companions, surprise twists and (presumably) much more to come, Whovians could be about to enter a new golden age for the show.<\/p>\n And until then? Well, we have Jodie Whittaker\u2019s final special, and all the frenzied speculation we can handle. Can\u2019t wait.<\/p>\n Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. For more, check out our dedicated Sci-Fi<\/a> page or our full TV Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0to get each issue delivered to your door. For more from the biggest stars in TV, l<\/strong>isten to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a> with Jane Garvey.<\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n By Huw Fullerton Published: Sunday, 15 May 2022 at 12:00 am Guess Who\u2019s back? After plenty of rumours and red herrings, the BBC have confirmed the shock news that former Doctor Who stars David Tennant and Catherine Tate are returning to the long-running sci-fi drama, over 12 years after they originally handed in their TARDIS […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":15471,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/david-tennant-and-catherine-tate-will-return-to-doctor-who-in-2023.jpg",800,533,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/david-tennant-and-catherine-tate-will-return-to-doctor-who-in-2023-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/david-tennant-and-catherine-tate-will-return-to-doctor-who-in-2023-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/david-tennant-and-catherine-tate-will-return-to-doctor-who-in-2023-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/david-tennant-and-catherine-tate-will-return-to-doctor-who-in-2023.jpg",800,533,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/david-tennant-and-catherine-tate-will-return-to-doctor-who-in-2023.jpg",800,533,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/david-tennant-and-catherine-tate-will-return-to-doctor-who-in-2023.jpg",800,533,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Huw Fullerton Published: Sunday, 15 May 2022 at 12:00 am Guess Who\u2019s back? After plenty of rumours and red herrings, the BBC have confirmed the shock news that former Doctor Who stars David Tennant and Catherine Tate are returning to the long-running sci-fi drama, over 12 years after they originally handed in their TARDIS…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/15470"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/05\/STRICTLY-EMBARGOED-UNTIL-7PM-ON-15.05.22--8b47877.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C930"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
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