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Doctor Who might not have seen the last of Christopher Eccleston...
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00:00Doctor Who is one of those shows that actors can never fully shake.
00:04You can appear as a cannon fodder supporting character in a single episode, and for the
00:09rest of your career that will be the most iconic thing you've ever done.
00:14You'll be attending fan conventions and signing autographs for decades, and it will
00:19be the thing you get asked about the most on social media and in interviews.
00:23Now sure, the vast majority of Doctor Who actors would probably return if asked to,
00:29but there are times when said actors, from main stars to companions to one-off supporting
00:35characters, have publicly discussed that idea, openly declaring their wish to step back into
00:41the TARDIS for another jaunt around the universe.
00:45So with that in mind then, I'm Ellie with Who Culture, and here are 10 actors who want
00:50to return to Doctor Who.
00:52Number 10 – Michelle Gomez
00:54Michelle Gomez last played the wickedly funny villainess Missy in 2017's Series 10 finale,
01:02where she was seemingly killed off by her prior, rather angry incarnation.
01:06However, in typical master fashion, Missy survived this apparent demise and soon went on to torment
01:12the 13th Doctor.
01:14Gomez's infectious energy made her an instant hit with fans, and she clearly had a blast
01:19in the role, so it's no surprise that she's eager to return at some point in the future.
01:24In 2019, the actress told Radio Times that she was completely open to stepping back into
01:30Missy's shoes, expressing particular interest in squaring off against Jodie Whittaker's
01:3513th Doctor, stating,
01:37Oh gosh, yeah, of course I would. I'd love to have a little run around with her. I don't
01:41know if that's ever going to happen, but I'm completely open to it, and I'd love to
01:45see Missy come back in and just get to play again.
01:48With Whittaker set to regenerate at the end of 2022, a Missy 13 showdown doesn't seem
01:53to be on the cards. But hey, who knows? Maybe Chris Chibnall has managed to squeeze that
01:58confrontation into November's centenary special.
02:019. Billy Piper After leaving the show in 2008's Emotional
02:06Series 4 finale, followed by a brief cameo in 2010's The End of Time Part 2, 50th anniversary
02:12special The Day of the Doctor saw Billy Piper return to Doctor Who, swapping the down-to-earth
02:17charm of Rose Tyler for the steely power of the Time Lord superweapon, The Moment.
02:23As for another return to the show? Well, there was a time where she seemed completely disinterested
02:29in the idea, telling The Guardian that she wouldn't go back. But in recent years, she
02:34does seem to have warmed to the idea, explaining in a 2021 video that if the circumstances and
02:39story were right, then she would be more than willing to step back into the TARDIS, adding
02:44that she's now been away from the show long enough to start to miss it.
02:48Rose is one of the most popular companions to come from the modern series. And seeing as
02:53it was Russell T Davies who created her, it would seem somewhat poetic for him to include
02:58her in his second era as showrunner.
03:018. Alex Kingston The story of River Song was wrapped up beautifully
03:06in the 2015 Christmas special. But there are so many reasons why it would make sense for
03:12River to come back. Chief among these is her wibbly-wobbly timeline, which makes it easy to say that
03:18her next adventure takes place anywhere between Let's Kill Hitler and the Husbands of River
03:23Song, with little explanation necessary. Combining this with the fact that she's one of the
03:27most fun companions in the show and a perennial fan favourite, and it's no surprise that Alex
03:33Kingston is gunning for River to reappear, declaring that I love the character and I think that there
03:39are wonderful potential opportunities down the road in a 2019 interview.
03:44With such an open-ended timeline, it wouldn't be a shock to see River pop up for another
03:49one-off adventure. She is the Doctor's wife, after all.
03:527. Carol Ann Ford As companion Susan Foreman, Carol Ann Ford's
03:57last Doctor Who appearance was in 1983's The Five Doctors. We don't talk about dimensions
04:03in time. So it's been a fair old while since we saw her in the role.
04:07Despite this, Ford clearly doesn't feel like she's lost that spark, or that she's rusty.
04:12In a 2020 interview with SFX magazine, the actress was asked if she wanted to return to
04:17the show, perhaps for an adventure with Jodie Whittaker's 13th Doctor, to which she responded
04:23in the affirmative. Ford also told a hilarious story about the time she visited Peter Capaldi
04:28on the Doctor Who set. According to her, Mr Attack Eyebrows danced around the TARDIS singing,
04:34I want you to come back, I want you to come back, which prompted her to think, my god, I'd
04:38love to work with him. A photograph of Susan famously appeared on the 12th Doctor's desk
04:44in the Series 10 opener. So if we take this to mean that the Doctor is still thinking about
04:49her, then there is an inbuilt story reason to bring Susan back. That and the fact that
04:54the first Doctor literally promised Susan that he would visit her again, a promise he
04:59has yet to fulfil.
05:00Number 6, David Tennant. Since regenerating into Matt Smith in early 2010, David Tennant's
05:0610th Doctor has been in so many comics, video games and audio dramas, and a starring role
05:12in the 50th special, that it never really felt like he truly left. Given his willingness to
05:17come back for all those expanded media projects over the years, it isn't a surprise that he's
05:23also keen to return in an on-screen capacity. Stating in a 2019 interview that he'd love
05:29to see a 60th anniversary special that united him with Whittaker, Capaldi, Smith, and Eccleston's
05:35Doctors. In a more recent 2021 interview, he added,
05:39Anything is possible. Never say never to anything.
05:43Given the 10th Doctor's popularity being as high as it is, and Tennant's old pal Russell
05:48T Davies returning to spearhead Doctor Who in 2023, it almost seems inevitable that we
05:54will see Tennant don the converse and browncoat again within the next few years.
05:59Number 5, Georgia Tennant. Whenever the subject of abandoned Doctor Who
06:04plot threads is raised, one that almost always gets mentioned is the fate of Jenny, the Doctor's
06:11daughter. Though Russell T Davies and Stephen Moffat have jokingly revealed that she flew into
06:16a moon and died, we don't know what she's been up to since her last on-screen appearance 14 years
06:22ago. Actress Georgia Tennant, David's wife, was never asked to return to the show, but to this
06:27day she continues to hold out hope that the call might arrive. In a recent chat with Metro, Tennant
06:33stated that she would obviously return to the show if asked, adding that she even has her own
06:37storyline in mind. I like the idea that she's sort of gone off and had a couple of kids and
06:42she's let herself go a bit. And she's enjoying her life and then someone comes back and goes,
06:47no, come on, you've got to go back to work. Considering that the Doctor believes Jenny to be
06:51dead, there's quite a lot of dramatic potential for reuniting these characters on-screen. And if
06:57the 14th Doctor is a woman, it would be interesting to see Jenny's reaction to her father's new look.
07:03Number 4, Paul McGann. As Doctors go, Paul McGann's eighth is in a unique position. Having not been
07:09granted a full series of television, audiences don't know his Doctor as well as they know the
07:14rest of them. So it almost feels like a no-brainer to bring him back. McGann himself also shares this
07:20stance, telling Doctor Who magazine in 2016 that he feels like his on-screen tenure isn't yet over
07:26and that there's a bit of potential in an eighth Doctor return. He then jokingly added,
07:32I'm younger than Capaldi, before explaining that if he were to return, then the story reasons would
07:37have to be compelling. The positive response to The Night of the Doctor proves that there's still
07:42a hunger for McGann's take on the Time Lord, and it just feels right for him to get his due.
07:48Number 3, Matt Smith. Matt Smith has made the jump to Hollywood since leaving Doctor Who in 2013,
07:55with starring roles in Terminator Genisys, Netflix's historical epic The Crown, Edgar Wright's Last Night
08:01in Soho and this year's Morbius. Like Karen Gillan, it almost feels like he's getting too big to step
08:08back down into the relatively low-budget world of Doctor Who. But despite all his success, he still
08:14wouldn't mind donning the tweed jacket and bow tie at some point in the future. In fact, in 2017,
08:21he didn't just tell MTV that he wants to come back. He openly declared that he will be back one day.
08:27Yeah, why not? I'd come back. If the timing was right. Look, I'll be back one day when I'm old
08:33and grey, which isn't far off. Much like The Tenth Doctor, Eleven's popularity makes him one of the
08:38top candidates for a return. And with Smith still being so young, he could get away with playing
08:44the role for many decades to come. Number 2, Christopher Eccleston. For well over a decade,
08:50the narrative surrounding a potential return to Doctor Who for Christopher Eccleston has been that he
08:55will never do it in a million years, primarily due to the poor experience he had during his short
09:00tenure on the series in the mid-2000s. And while it's certainly true that he has problems with the
09:06way the show was run during his brief tenure, the actor does seem to have softened on Doctor Who in
09:12recent years, and has even opened himself up to a potential on-screen return. Many fans thought
09:17they'd never see Eccleston return to play The Ninth Doctor in any capacity, and yet, in 2020,
09:22it was announced that he'd be reprising the role for a series of big Finnish audio dramas,
09:28a clear sign that he wasn't totally averse to dipping his feet in Hooniverse waters.
09:33More recently, he's gone one step further, indicating that he'd be down for a proper
09:37on-screen return, just not in a multi-Doctor special. Stating,
09:42The Ninth Doctor in particular is a one-man band, definitely. So he doesn't work with other
09:47Doctors. If you want me back, you get me on my own.
09:49With Eccleston's rocky history with the show, it does feel unlikely that we'll see him picking
09:54up that sonic screwdriver once again. But the chances of it happening have increased slightly
10:00in recent years. Number 1. Catherine Tate
10:03In early 2021, it was reported that Catherine Tate had been spotted in Liverpool at the exact
10:09same time that Doctor Who were filming Series 13 in that city. And while it was later revealed that
10:16she very much wasn't in Liverpool, this flimsy rumour caused quite the stir in Doctor Who fan
10:21circles. So you can imagine how hyped people would be if Donna Noble did actually return to the show.
10:28Fortunately then, Catherine Tate is very much open to the idea, telling the one show,
10:33No one's been in touch, but I'm on the same number, I'd just like to say. So if you've got the
10:37money, I've got the time. Donna is another character closely associated with returning showrunner
10:42at Russell T. Davies. And so, on the surface at least, that does increase the chances of him
10:47wheeling her out for another spin. You simply cannot contain the best temp in Chiswick.
10:52And that concludes our list. If you can think of any other actors who would be willing to return
10:56to Doctor Who, then do let us know in the comments below. And while you're there, don't forget to like
11:01and subscribe and tap that notification bell. Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there,
11:05and I can be found across various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
11:09I've been Ellie with Who Culture, and in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye, sweeties.
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