Doctor Who's Christopher Eccleston shares what will get him to return to show
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Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston has bluntly shared what it would take for him to return to the show.
Eccleston played The Doctor when the long-running sci-fi series was first rebooted by current showrunner Russell T Davies in 2005, and he's been outspoken in the past about the issues he had on set – once remarking during a TV interview that he would return to the series "only when hell freezes over".
Now, while appearing on a recent panel during the For the Love of Sci-Fi convention, Eccleston was asked "what would have to happen" for him to reprise his role as the Ninth Doctor on TV.
"Sack Russell T Davies," Eccleston answered (via Metro). Eccleston went on to name a number of the show's executive producers, adding: "Sack Jane Tranter, sack Phil Collinson, sack Julie Gardner, and I'll come back. So, can you arrange that?"
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Eccleston was joined on the panel by his former co-star Billie Piper who, according to Metro, 'pulled an awkward face'.
The actor went on to explain that while he "loves being associated" with the Doctor and the franchise as a whole: "I just don't like being associated with those people and the politics that went on in the first series."
"The first series was a mess, and it wasn't to do with me or Billie," he continued. "It was to do with the people who were supposed to make it, and it was a mess."
Eccleston also alleged there was little interest in the show or support for it within the BBC until it was a proven success, and said he found those attitudes very challenging.
"And the first series of any show – Billie did Confessions of a Call Girl – y'know, the first series, nobody wants to know," he explained.
"The BBC were like, 'We're gonna keep a big distance from this', and then as soon as it was a success, they were all up close, going, 'I was responsible for that'. But they were all, at a distance, like, 'This is a folly, Eccleston's folly, Piper's folly, Russell T Davies' folly'.
"Then, when it worked, suddenly, 'Oh yeah, I worked on that'. They wouldn't come anywhere near us, and then they jump on the bandwagon.
"Those kind of politics, I'm not very good at handling, I can't swallow that shit."
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Back in 2018, Eccleston alleged that his career was nearly destroyed by Doctor Who.
"What happened around Doctor Who almost destroyed my career. I gave them a hit show and I left with dignity and then they put me on a blacklist," he claimed in an interview with The Guardian.
"I was carrying my own insecurities as it was something I had never done before and then I was abandoned, vilified in the tabloid press and blacklisted," he continued.
Eccleston also declined to return to the show for its 50th anniversary special in 2013 when Steven Moffat was showrunner.
Speaking in 2019 about why he turned down a chance to return, the actor said: "When ['The Day of the Doctor'] came along I did speak to them. I didn't feel that what they were asking me to do did justice to the Ninth Doctor. So I said no."
In 2021, Eccleston shared his feelings that his "relationship with the BBC over Doctor Who has not healed", and said that his relationships with Davies, Collinson and Gardner had "completely broke down", describing his time on the series as a "nightmare".
However, Eccleston has chosen to reprise the Ninth Doctor off-screen in Big Finish's audio dramas on a number of occasions since 2020, recently working on a 60th anniversary project with them.
Sharing his affection for the character ahead of his Big Finish debut, he said: "He was always a joy to play, somebody with that amount of optimism, enthusiasm and brains – and heart... two hearts!"
Doctor Who continues with 'The Church on Ruby Road', airing on Christmas Day (December 25). The show airs on BBC One in the UK and Disney+ elsewhere.
Classic episodes of Doctor Who are now made available via BBC iPlayer in the UK as well.
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