- 05/06/2025
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00:00Hello, only me! Just before we started, I want to give a quick shout out to Skillshare,
00:05who we are happy to be working with here on Who Culture to help you access all sorts of amazing
00:10classes, but more on that later. On stage in Melbourne, Australia, Christopher Eccleston
00:16spoke about the possibility of his return to the role of the ninth doctor for the 60th anniversary
00:21of Doctor Who. Eccleston denounced the idea of multi-doctor stories as a cash grab and said
00:27that if he was to return, it would be as a solo doctor. It marks a significant shift in his
00:32original assertion that he'd return to the role when hell freezes over, but it also feels like
00:37his return to the TV series is as far away as ever. The circumstances of Eccleston's departure from the
00:42Who show is something of an ongoing mystery in Doctor Who. Originally, it was assumed to be a
00:47simple case of a decision not to renew his contract. After all, he wasn't known for sticking around in
00:52popular series for long. His character in Cracker was memorably written out after one season,
00:58for example. In the years that have followed, however, more information has come out via
01:02interviews, unofficial sources, and Eccleston's own autobiography. So with that in mind then,
01:07I'm Ellie with Who Culture, and let's take a look at the true story behind Christopher Eccleston's
01:12Doctor Who exit.
01:139. He's back, and it's about time
01:19In 2003, the 40th anniversary year, it was announced that Doctor Who would be returning
01:25to the BBC with a brand new series. Twice. The Paul Cornell-scripted Richard E. Grant-starring
01:31Scream of the Schalke was announced in July as a new animated era for the show. It was a bold new
01:37vision, pairing an emotionally traumatised Doctor with a robotic master as a sort of buddy duo.
01:43Schalke's thunder was soon stolen by a bigger, bolder announcement, however.
01:48Two months later, in September, it was announced that Doctor Who would be coming back to BBC One
01:52as a proper television series. It would be creatively spearheaded by acclaimed screenwriter
01:57Russell T. Davies. Between 26th September 2003 and 26th March 2005, Doctor Who fandom was
02:05reinvigorated by the possibilities of the new series, discussing potential casting, sharing various
02:11production rumours and set photos on message boards, and renewing their dormant Doctor Who
02:16Appreciation Society memberships. It was a very exciting time to be a Doctor Who fan.
02:238. Eccleston is cast for Doctor Who's Second Coming
02:26Names thrown around as a potential ninth Doctor included Tom Baker and Judi Dench. As Russell T.
02:32Davies nodded along to these suggestions, he was harbouring a desire to cast Hugh Grant in the role.
02:37Quite what the battle-scarred Doctor would be like in the hands of Grant is anyone's guess,
02:41as Grant declined the offer, something he's said to have later regretted after seeing how
02:46successful the show became. A name that nobody had even considered was Christopher Eccleston,
02:51an actor known for his work in grounded, realistic, seminal dramas like Our Friends in the North
02:56and Cracker. He was not an actor known for the lightness of touch many expected from the character
03:01of the Doctor. In an interview to announce his casting, Eccleston noted that,
03:05"...I don't think he's going to be as eccentric and foppish as he was in some of his incarnations."
03:10Eccleston was cast after he emailed Davies to register his interest. Having previously worked
03:15on The Second Coming with RTD, Eccleston told the press he was excited to be working with him again.
03:217. Filming begins with Aliens of London
03:24With Eccleston cast as the Doctor and former pop star and full-time actor Billy Piper cast as his
03:30companion Rose, the 21st Century Incarnation entered production on 18 July 2004. Filming at
03:37Cardiff Royal Infirmary, doubling for Albion Hospital, Eccleston's first scenes as the Doctor
03:42was him chasing the space pig down the corridor. And there's nothing more Doctor-ish than that.
03:47Alongside the filming of the series, a companion show Doctor Who Confidential was documenting the
03:52production and provided valuable insights into Eccleston's brief time on the show.
03:57In his interviews, he clearly grasps the character, noting the Doctor's open-mindedness
04:02as a great quality for a television hero, while also highlighting his brutal alien pragmatism.
04:08Eccleston and Piper also clearly get on very well together, and are regularly seen smiling
04:13and laughing between takes in the short glimpses of filming. In his autobiography,
04:17I Love the Bones of You, Eccleston reflects on his working relationship with Piper, stating,
04:22What truly amazes me is I know how nervous Billie was at the start. She thought I was
04:27some big, serious performer, and she didn't have the belief in herself as an actor. She
04:31proved herself, of course, to be way better than any of the rest of us.
04:35Now, at the beginning of this video, I told you that we have partnered with Skillshare,
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06:13but for now, back to the video.
06:15Number 6. Eccleston embarks on the promotion trail. In the run-up to Doctor Who's premiere
06:21on the 26th of March 2005, Christopher Eccleston embarked on the promotional trail for the new series.
06:28The return of Doctor Who was a big deal. There were billboards, specially shot trailers, and teasers.
06:34Eccleston and Piper were front and centre in all of this promotion. On top of this,
06:39there was also media appearances on some stalwart British shows.
06:42Eccleston sat on the Blue Peter sofa to talk about how he felt about taking on such an iconic
06:47role, stating,
06:49I was very excited. I felt ready to take on something with that sort of responsibility,
06:53because the scripts are that strong.
06:55He also appeared on a special Doctor Who-themed episode of Mastermind to present the winner with
07:00the trophy. On being introduced by host John Humphreys as Doctor Who, Eccleston offhandedly
07:05quips,
07:06Well, for now.
07:07Throughout these appearances, he's effusive about what drew him to the role. The scripts,
07:12the monsters, and the importance of the Doctor.
07:15What nobody knew at this point, however, was that Eccleston had already filmed his final scene
07:19as the Doctor.
07:20Number 5. Rose airs Two Days Later, Eccleston is Gone
07:25On the 26th of March 2005, Doctor Who triumphantly returned to screens.
07:31Christopher Eccleston is the new Doctor Who.
07:35Not even the leak of the first episode or an interruption from Graham Norton could take the
07:40sheen of the staggering 10.81 million viewers that tuned in to watch Rose.
07:45Two days later, the tabloids published reports that Eccleston had already departed the series
07:50and the search for a new Doctor was on. The BBC responded to these rumours two days later on the
07:5530th of March, stating that Eccleston left the role for fear of being typecast. It wasn't true.
08:00The following Monday, BBC Head of Drama and Commissioning Jane Tranter had to publicly
08:05apologise to Eccleston, stating that,
08:07The BBC regrets not speaking to Christopher before it responded to the press questions on
08:12Wednesday the 30th of March. The BBC further regrets that it falsely attributed a statement
08:16to Christopher and apologises to him.
08:19It was a sour note that undercut the joy of Doctor Who being back on TV and more popular than ever.
08:25The casting of David Tennant and the series' increasing popularity certainly dispelled much
08:29of this unpleasantness. However, the BBC's decision to misquote Eccleston and upset him further
08:34is a real failing on their part, especially given how much work he did to promote the series.
08:404. Stories of on-set troubles emerge in the years after Eccleston's departure
08:45The abrupt nature of Eccleston's departure and the poor handling of the announcement by the BBC
08:50has led to it being revisited in various interviews with the actor. In June 2010,
08:56Eccleston hit the headlines when, while promoting a drama about John Lennon,
09:00he was asked about his departure. In response, he stated that,
09:03I didn't enjoy the environment and the culture that we, the cast and crew, had to work in.
09:08I thought if I stay in this job, I'm going to have to blind myself to certain things that I
09:12thought were wrong. As an actor who is from a staunch working-class trade union background,
09:17it's unsurprising that he left rather than be complicit in a perceived toxic workplace.
09:22It's unclear if this refers to Series 1's overrunning shoots, Eccleston's rumoured disagreements
09:27with director Keith Boak or something else entirely. In 2018, Eccleston elaborated further,
09:33suggesting that something had gone very badly wrong between when he excitedly emailed RTD to
09:38offer to play the Doctor and his eventual departure, stating,
09:41My relationship with my three immediate superiors, the showrunner, the producer, and co-producer,
09:47broke down irreparably during the first block of filming, and it never recovered. They lost trust
09:52in me, and I lost faith and trust and belief in them.
09:56Number 3. Eccleston meets with Moffat for Day of the Doctor
09:59In his autobiography, Eccleston feels that Russell T. Davies didn't quite know what he wanted from
10:04the Doctor, but is incredibly complimentary of Stephen Moffat, saying that his scripts delivered
10:10my best work, bringing me closer to finally knowing exactly who the Doctor was than any other time
10:15during the shoot. It's no surprise that he was open to meeting Moffat about appearing in 2013's
10:2150th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor. Ultimately, Eccleston turned the role down because
10:27he felt it didn't do justice to the Ninth Doctor. He's glad he did, because it left room for John
10:32Hurt's phenomenal turn as the War Doctor, whom Eccleston believes is a far better actor than me.
10:37It was a promising first step towards Eccleston donning the leather jacket once more, but the
10:42role still held a great deal of trauma for the actor. Furthermore, Eccleston's struggles with mental
10:47health and body dysmorphia were intrinsically linked with the role, observing in the autobiography
10:52that,
10:53People love the way I look in that series, but I was very ill. The reward for that illness was
10:58the part, and therein lies the perpetuation of the whole sorry situation.
11:03Number 2. Eccleston begins attending conventions
11:06Five years after the huge 50th anniversary celebrations, Christopher Eccleston made his
11:11first convention appearance. Rather than a full-on Doctor Who convention, it was the London Film and
11:16Comic Con, and fans could get their photo taken with the Ninth Doctor for the princely sum of £95.
11:23Eccleston's appearances on the convention circuit also opened up the opportunities for him to bump
11:28into other Doctor actors like Matt Smith, with their very tactile and lovely meeting going viral
11:33on social media. Aside from the obvious financial gain, Eccleston was clearly attracted to the convention
11:39circuit by the opportunity to meet his fans. In a 2016 video for BBC Raw to discuss the A-word,
11:46Eccleston talks with fan Gerard Groves about the series, autism, and is visibly moved when Groves
11:52talks about the impact his portrayal of the Doctor had on his childhood. It chimes with Eccleston's
11:57own reflections on the impact of the role on those kids that were growing up in 2005, watching him
12:03as the Ninth Doctor. Stating,
12:05Everywhere I go, Cornwall, Belfast, Glasgow, I now get people of a certain age, mid-twenties,
12:10coming up to me. You were my Doctor, they tell me.
12:14Number 1. If you want me back, get me on my own.
12:17As Eccleston continued to make convention appearances, he came into contact with Big
12:21Finnish chairman Jason Haig Ellery at the Gallifrey One convention in early 2020.
12:26Since that fateful meeting, Eccleston has recorded a full 12-episode series as the Ninth Doctor,
12:32with another one on the way. It's certainly a positive sign that he's been able to move on
12:36from the damage and strain that playing the part put upon him. As for a potential return in the
12:4160th anniversary, it's a bit more complicated than that. At the Supernova convention in
12:47Melbourne, Eccleston put out an open offer to the BBC. If you want me back, get me on my own.
12:52With rumours of a potential anniversary anthology series with past Doctors, he may get his wish.
12:58And what better tribute to Christopher Eccleston, the man who re-established Doctor Who and ensured
13:03its continuing legacy, than by having him return in 2023, 20 years after the show was recommissioned.
13:11And there you have it. If you can think of any other juicy details, then do let us know in the
13:15comments below, and while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe, and tap that
13:19notification bell. Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there, and I can be found across
13:23various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild. I've been Ellie with Who Culture,
13:28and in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye, sweetie.
13:31Howard.
13:32battery.
13:46You're here.
13:47One, two, three.
13:50One.
13:51One.
13:52One.
13:54Two.
13:55One, one.
13:55One, two.
13:57One, two.
13:57One, three.
13:58One, three.
13:58One, two.
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