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Doctor Who: Eccleston on Sixteenth Doctor: "Give It to Billie" Piper

Doctor Who icon Christopher Eccleston isn't wavering when it comes to supporting co-star Billie Piper becoming the Sixteenth Doctor.

Published Tue, 31 Mar 2026 11:07:07 -0500

by Ray Flook

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Just to be clear? Christopher Eccleston, aka the Ninth Doctor, was down with Billie Piper being the Doctor long before it became the cool thing to debate after the final moments of "The Reality War" hit our screens. "I was saying to somebody today in the green room that Russell T Davies is coming back, right, and who's going to be his Doctor? I think it should be Billie Piper, actually. Catherine Tate's great, but I think there's your Doctor. And I'd like to see you all struggle with it. 'How can she be the Doctor when she was an assistant?!' I like the idea of it blowing fuses in the canon, or whatever it's called," Eccleston shared during a fan event… in 2022. Now, we get to flash ahead four years, with fans anxiously awaiting word on whether Showrunner Russell T. Davies's upcoming Doctor Who Christmas Special will address the matter.

The topic of Piper as the Sixteenth Doctor was addressed again by Eccleston during a special session at the Oxford Literary Festival this past weekend. During a conversation with actor Paterson Joseph, Eccleston was asked whether he really was a "Time Lord," given how he made the call years earlier. "Exactly, I'm a prophet!" joked Ecclestion, laughing. But when it comes to Piper taking on the role he once held (and still returns to for Big Finish's audio dramas), Eccleston's support hasn't wavered: "Give it to Billie! Yeah, why not? Why not?"

Doctor Who: Christopher Eccleston Wants Folks Sacked Before Return

During a Q&A portion of Eccleston and Piper's panel at the For The Love Of Sci-Fi 2023 convention from December 2023, Eccleston was once again asked if he would ever return to the long-running series proper. Now, if you're a glass-half-full person, you can view his response as not being a "no." But realistically, the bar set by Eccleston didn't sound like one that the BBC has any interest in clearing. Basically, he wouldn't return as long as Showrunner Russell T. Davies, EPs Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter, and producer Phil Collinson were still involved with the show. "Sack Russell T Davies. Sack Jane Tranter. Sack Phil Collinson. Sack Julie Gardner. And I'll come back. So can you arrange that?" the actor responded.

As we've seen from his work with Big Finish, Eccleston made it clear that he "loves" being associated with the character and the show's universe – but that's not the case when it comes to how he feels about production on 2005's first season. "I love being associated, 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 [Piper], it was to do with the people who were supposed to make it, and it was a mess," Eccleston explained – once again referencing the team that put together the show's revival.

And when it came to the revival itself, Eccleston shared that he also had an issue with the BBC not really backing the show's return until after it became a hit. "You know, the first series, nobody wants to know. 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 like at a distance. Like this is a folly, Eccleston's folly, Piper's folly, Russell T. Davies' folly. And 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," Eccleston shared. "Those kinds of politics I'm not very good at handling, I can't swallow that shit."

During his spotlight panel at March 2026's C2E2 2026, Eccleston didn't waver from his position: "I thought about this, [and] not with the four people who are running it now." What hit our radar was what Eccleston shared regarding what would bring him "back like a shot" to the role. "Here's the thing: 'Doctor Who's' written for boys. There has never been a female showrunner of 'Doctor Who.' So my dream is this: there was a little girl who was, I don't know — six, seven, eight — in 2005 when my series went out, and she gets the job, and she asked me back? I'd go back like a shot."

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