{"id":46049,"date":"2024-02-16T15:00:37","date_gmt":"2024-02-16T14:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1992818"},"modified":"2024-02-16T15:45:41","modified_gmt":"2024-02-16T14:45:41","slug":"christopher-eccleston-did-the-impossible-in-doctor-who","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/christopher-eccleston-did-the-impossible-in-doctor-who\/","title":{"rendered":"Christopher Eccleston did the impossible in Doctor Who"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the British acting legend turns 60, we look back on one of his greatest performances. <\/p>

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

Published: Friday, 16 February 2024 at 14:00 PM<\/p>

\n\n

\u201cNice to meet you, Rose. Run for your life!\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the moment Christopher Eccleston<\/a> won me over as the Ninth Doctor<\/a> in Doctor Who<\/a> \u2013 six minutes and 57 seconds into the first episode of the first season of the reboot.<\/p>\n

Every Doctor Who fan has a moment like that with the witty, fiery and unknowable Ninth Doctor, and the fact that he\u2019s so well-loved is no mean feat.<\/p>\n

As the British acting legend turns 60, I couldn\u2019t resist looking back on what I think is Eccleston\u2019s greatest ever performance \u2013 and why it\u2019s even more impressive all these years later.<\/p>\n

Eccleston\u2019s casting was announced in 2004, when Doctor Who had been off air for eight years following the TV movie (which received a rather tepid reaction, although Paul McGann<\/a>\u2018s Eighth Doctor has rightly been more appreciated since).<\/p>\n

Before that, it had been seven years since Sylvester McCoy<\/a>\u2018s Seventh Doctor wandered off into the sunset in a rather abrupt ending to what we now know as Classic Who.<\/p>\n

\"Christopher\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor in Doctor Who.<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC, Adrian Rogers<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Basically, Doctor Who wasn\u2019t in the best place, and there was no suggestion that it would return to being the titan of British TV that it is today.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret that things didn\u2019t exactly run completely smoothly on the first season of Doctor Who, either. From the low budget to disagreements behind the scenes<\/a>, there were seemingly very few signs that rebooting the sci-fi would work.<\/p>\n

But there was clearly one big sign, which showrunner Russell T Davies has since referred to as a secret he relished keeping \u2013 just how electric Eccleston and his co-star Billie Piper (Rose Tyler) were.<\/p>\n

The odds were completely stacked against Eccleston and yet, in one season, he gave a performance for the ages.<\/p>\n

Not only did he bring the Doctor bang up to date (aided a little by his iconic leather jacket), he instantly found the heart (or two hearts) of what the Time Lord is really about.<\/p>

Balancing rage and loss with a sense of unbridled adventure with perfect comedic timing, Eccleston held out his hand and took all of us along for the ride.<\/p>\n

From one-liners to out-and-out monologues, and switching between pure emotion and cheekiness with ease, he had everything you could ever want when it comes to the Doctor.<\/p>\n

Eccleston departed after just one season for a multitude of reasons, and was replaced by David Tennant, whose reign only did more to secure Doctor Who as the television giant it is today.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s astonishing to think that Eccleston was only the Doctor for 13 episodes, especially when you compare it to his successors Tennant (at least 50, including the 60th anniversary specials) and Matt Smith (upwards of 40).<\/p>\n

In a fraction of the time, Eccleston made just as much of an impact (potentially more, in some cases) than those that would come after him. No one\u2019s done it like him since and maybe no one will again.<\/p>\n