{"id":46017,"date":"2024-02-16T09:00:35","date_gmt":"2024-02-16T08:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1992226"},"modified":"2024-02-16T12:32:21","modified_gmt":"2024-02-16T11:32:21","slug":"revisit-christopher-ecclestons-iconic-doctor-who-radio-times-cover-as-he-turns-60","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/revisit-christopher-ecclestons-iconic-doctor-who-radio-times-cover-as-he-turns-60\/","title":{"rendered":"Revisit Christopher Eccleston\u2019s iconic Doctor Who Radio Times cover as he turns 60"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy birthday to the Ninth Doctor legend! <\/p>

By Louise Griffin\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 16 February 2024 at 08:00 AM<\/p>

\n\n

As acting legend Christopher Eccleston<\/a> celebrates his 60th birthday, we couldn\u2019t help but revisit his iconic Doctor Who<\/a> Radio Times<\/strong> cover.<\/p>\n

The cover, released in 2013 as part of Radio Times<\/strong>\u2018s celebration of Doctor Who\u2019s 50th anniversary, shows Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor<\/a> in his recognisable leather jacket alongside some of his most famous foes \u2013 the Daleks and the Slitheen.<\/p>\n

Eccleston has had an illustrious career thus far across stage and screen, but sci-fi fans will know him best as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor, and the man who brought the beloved Time Lord back to our screens in 2005 after the show\u2019s long hiatus.<\/p>\n

His casting was announced in 2004, and he starred as the Time Lord for one season with Billie Piper<\/a> as companion<\/a> Rose Tyler before he left the role, with David Tennant following in his footsteps as the Tenth Doctor.<\/p>\n

\"Christopher\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston on the cover of Radio Times<\/span><\/figcaption> Radio Times<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

While Eccleston has been open about the difficulties he faced on set, including disagreements with showrunner Russell T Davies, he\u2019s also made no secret of his love for the character itself, and has even returned to play the Ninth Doctor in audio adventures for Big Finish.<\/p>\n

At the time of his return, he said: \u201cAfter 15 years it will be exciting to revisit the Ninth Doctor\u2019s world, bringing back to life a character I love playing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Doctor\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Doctor Who\u2019s Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose Tyler in Radio Times magazine<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Davies recently praised Eccleston\u2019s performance in the BBC documentary Imagine\u2026 Russell T Davies, saying of the show\u2019s reboot in 2005: \u201cI had to keep all the good iconography but dust off all the rubbish. Part of the rubbish was kind of pompousness around the character.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a Time Lord, so in people\u2019s minds, he\u2019s become a lord, someone loquacious and pompous and ostentatious and posh. So Chris singlehandedly, in one moment, shook that off.\u201d<\/p>

Outside of Doctor Who, Eccleston is known for film roles including Malekith in Thor: The Dark World, as well as varied TV roles including DCI Bilborough in 1993\u2019s Cracker, Claude in 2007\u2019s Heroes, Robert in 2015\u2019s Safe House, and Maurice Scott in The A Word.<\/p>\n

Most recently, he starred as Ted Connelly in True Detective<\/a>.<\/p>\n