David Tennant had it all. As the tenth Doctor he was a fan-favourite with a run of episodes that reached more than 13 million viewers in the UK \u2013 a record for the modern revival of Doctor Who<\/a>, which almost rivalled its 1970s heyday. He left on his own terms in 2010 rather than being shoved aside for a younger, cooler star (in fact, the BBC wanted him to stay longer). His legacy set him up for lucrative convention appearances and fan worship for life, while his post-Who career is flourishing. So why risk it all by returning?<\/p>\n \u201cI hadn\u2019t thought about it like that,\u201d Tennant laughs. \u201cThank God I made it to this point! It never really occurred to me to worry about that. Perhaps it should have done\u2026but with Catherine [Tate]<\/a> being part of it, and with Russell [T Davies]<\/a> writing the scripts, I never actually worried about anything other than my own ability to run as fast as I used to.\u201d<\/p>\n In fairness, while the return of old favourites to a stage they\u2019ve vacated can sometimes tarnish a legacy, Tennant\u2019s Doctor is a special case. Apart from Tom Baker<\/a>, it\u2019s hard to think of a Doctor Who star who so captured the public\u2019s imagination. At the height of his career on the show, Tennant was plastered on magazine covers and lunchboxes; he was accosted in the street. In 2009, he was the BBC\u2019s Christmas ident. By the time he left, aged 39, one suspects he could have been reading the phone book to a Dalek and viewers would still have tuned in.<\/p>\n Happily this comeback, announced to great fanfare last year, is a little more involved than that. \u201cThe first conversation we had about it was very casual,\u201d Tennant recalls. \u201cRussell and Catherine were talking about the notion of: \u2018What if we got the band back together for one last special? But David would never do it.\u2019 And I said, \u2018What do you mean I\u2019d never do it? I\u2019d do it in a shot. And then suddenly, we were back for three in a row.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, why not?\u201d he laughs. \u201cIt was such a joyous time, and these are people I love as humans, and certainly love as people to work with. And Doctor Who is something that will always be hugely important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, there\u2019s a case to be made that the 52-year-old Tennant \u2013 who\u2019s speaking to us the day after his birthday, ever committed to the show \u2013 never really left Doctor Who behind in the first place. Yes, he\u2019s had many successes since \u2013 Broadchurch, Good Omens, Des, Marvel\u2019s Jessica Jones and Staged to name but a few \u2013 but he\u2019s always kept a foot in the TARDIS<\/a> door. After all, it was just three years after his dramatic regeneration that he teamed up with his successor Matt Smith for 2013\u2019s 50th-anniversary special.<\/p>\n \u201cI was sort of a member of the guest cast on that, because it was Matt\u2019s show,\u201d says Tennant now. \u201cIt\u2019s different when you\u2019re in charge of the TARDIS again. There\u2019s a lot more work to do. I remember on the 50th, going, \u2018Oh, this is easy. I used to have to learn far more lines than this!\u2019\u201d<\/p> Two years after that, Tennant was back headlining his own Doctor Who stories for a series of audio dramas co-starring \u2013 and this sounds familiar \u2013 ex-companion Catherine Tate. He\u2019s kept playing the Doctor that way ever since, lending his voice to audio plays and (more recently) video games starring his character.<\/p>\n The Doctor even looms large in Tennant\u2019s personal life. He married a guest actor on the series \u2013 Georgia Moffett, who appeared in a 2008 episode with him \u2013 which means his father-in-law is former fifth Doctor Peter Davison. He also has a police box cut-out in his garden. Given all this, it\u2019s hard to imagine why Davies and Tate thought this on-screen return would be a hard sell.<\/p>\n \u201cThe truth is, it\u2019s a rather lovely, benevolent, generous thing to be connected with. I love it. I always have, and I\u2019m sure I always will,\u201d says Tennant. \u201cI grew up with posters on my wall signed by Tom Baker. It\u2019s very peculiar that I should end up in the show that was, to a greater or lesser extent, the thing that inspired me to be in the profession I\u2019m in.<\/p>\n \u201cIt runs through my life as if through a stick of rock, really. As you say, I met my wife on the set of Doctor Who, and I\u2019m now a father. I\u2019ve given up trying to resist the inevitability that Doctor Who will be following me around for the rest of time.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead, he\u2019s embraced it. So, this week he returns as the Doctor on BBC1 \u2013 but not the same one he played before. Originally, Tennant says the plan was for him and Tate to return for the anniversary in a flashback episode, set during their shared 2008 series and with a storyline completely different from the specials as they now exist.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would have been an unseen adventure from years before,\u201d he says. \u201cRussell immediately had an idea for a story, which I\u2019m not going to mention because I don\u2019t think it\u2019s yet seen the light of day. It certainly wouldn\u2019t have been part of an ongoing story. But I hope one day he does use it because it sounded great.\u201d<\/p>\n But Davies\u2019s return to the BBC fold as the new Who showrunner changed everything. \u201cThen Russell decided he was coming back full-time and the whole thing blossomed,\u201d says Tennant. Suddenly, the one-off had turned into a trio of specials for Doctor Who\u2019s 60th anniversary.<\/p>\n Davies tells me later: \u201cIt was simply as many episodes as David and Catherine could do. If they had said, \u2018We\u2019ve got time to make 12,\u2019 we would have made 12. If they had said, \u2018We\u2019ve got time to make one,\u2019 then we\u2019d have made one. But I think a one-off would have been a disappointment.\u201d<\/p>\n And it was a flashback no longer. Instead, Tennant plays a new (and official) incarnation of the Doctor that follows on from his younger self and the Doctors that came after \u2013 Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi and Jodie Whittaker \u2013 in a way that\u2019s woven into the story of the specials (titled The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder and The Giggle).<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s part of what the Doctor himself is struggling with: why is he here?\u201d says Tennant. \u201cWhy has he got this face back, and what might that mean? Though you\u2019re still in a recognisably Doctor Who world, and I think that\u2019s right and proper,\u201d he adds. \u201cIt gets you back into those stories that you know and love and recognise, with some elements in there that are unexpected.\u201d<\/p>\n In particular, he says that the second and third specials go in unusual directions. \u201cWith two and three, Russell has written Doctor Who like I have never seen it before,\u201d he reveals. \u201cHe\u2019s come back to it with a whole new raft of ideas and enthusiasm. I\u2019m just very chuffed to be able to be part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n But of course, he\u2019s not going to be part of it for long. Davies describes Tennant\u2019s new incarnation as a \u201cMagnesium Doctor\u201d \u2013 in other words, he burns brightly but not for long \u2013 because at the end of the third special, airing on 9 December, he\u2019ll regenerate into new Doctor Ncuti Gatwa. The 31-year-old Sex Education star takes over for the Christmas special, followed by a full series next year (and beyond \u2013 he\u2019s already filming episodes that will be shown in 2025).<\/p>\n \u201cI have seen a bit of Ncuti, and he\u2019s magnificent,\u201d Tennant says. \u201cHe\u2019s just got such an energy. He\u2019s so creative, and he\u2019s inventive, and he\u2019s funny, and he\u2019s a proper actor. I think he\u2019s going to be great.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve met Millie Gibson [new companion Ruby, right], and she seems lovely, too. I haven\u2019t got a chance to see any of her stuff yet, but they seem great together. I\u2019m jealous of the adventure they\u2019ve got in front of them.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked if he has any advice for his successor, Tennant seems vaguely horrified \u2013 \u201cWhat would I say? I mean, literally, what would I say?\u201d I suggest he might prepare Gatwa to return in about 18 years. \u201cWell, he\u2019s young,\u201d Tennant laughs. \u201cHe\u2019ll get into the 100th anniversary, probably. I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll make it that far. Though if I can keep running fast enough \u2013<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know. I never imagined that I would be sitting there for the 60th anniversary, talking about three specials we\u2019d made. This show continues to surprise everyone involved with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, it must be hard to hand over the TARDIS so soon after getting hold of it again. Was there a moment, just for a second, where he thought about snatching back the sonic screwdriver, barricading the studio and staying on for a full series?<\/p>\n Even as a lifelong fan, he says not. \u201cIt was never on the table,\u201d Tennant says firmly. \u201cThe story \u2013 well, as soon as I start to talk about this, we get into the area of spoilers, so I\u2019m not going to say any more. All I know is that I\u2019m excited and jealous of everything that Ncuti has in front of him. And I can\u2019t wait to enjoy it as a viewer, because I think he\u2019s magnificent.\u201d<\/p>\n He laughs. \u201cI think they thought, \u2018Let the old man run around for a minute \u2013 and then we\u2019ll get a nice, young bloke in.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n Check out more Doctor Who interviews in Radio Times magazine, on sale now.<\/em><\/p>\n Doctor Who\u2019s first 60th anniversary special The Star Beast airs at 6:30pm on Saturday 25th November on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Classic episodes are available on BritBox \u2013 you can sign up for a\u00a07-day free trial here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Check out more of our\u00a0Sci-Fi<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Streaming Guide<\/a>\u00a0to find out what\u2019s on.<\/strong><\/p>\n Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only \u00a310 \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>subscribe now<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and celebrate the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who with a special issue of Radio Times. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to\u00a0<\/strong>The Radio Times Podcast<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n “Russell has written Doctor Who like I have never seen it before.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":40338,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/11\/doctor-whos-david-tennant-on-getting-the-band-back-together-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/11\/doctor-whos-david-tennant-on-getting-the-band-back-together-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/11\/doctor-whos-david-tennant-on-getting-the-band-back-together-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/11\/doctor-whos-david-tennant-on-getting-the-band-back-together-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/11\/doctor-whos-david-tennant-on-getting-the-band-back-together-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/11\/doctor-whos-david-tennant-on-getting-the-band-back-together-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/11\/doctor-whos-david-tennant-on-getting-the-band-back-together-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"\"Russell has written Doctor Who like I have never seen it before.\"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/40337"}],"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\/40338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"David](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/11\/Doctor-Who-7-079fb18.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"David")
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