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Doctor Who: "Genius" Christopher Eccleston "Magnificent Doctor": RTD

Doctor Who Showrunner Russell T. Davies had nothing but praise and appreciation for Christopher Eccleston's run as the Ninth Doctor.

On March 26, 2005, viewers would venture back to the "Whoniverse" in a very big way, with "Rose" (directed by Keith Boak and written by Russell T Davies) introducing the world to Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor and Billie Piper's Rose Tyler – and the pop culture universe would never be the same. With this past week marking the 20th anniversary of the "NuWho" era, those who helped make the return of Doctor Who a reality have been reflecting on the experience and how things have been for the series over the past twenty years. One thorny topic has been the matter of Eccleston, who has returned to the role for audio adventures but who has also made it clear in the past that he would never consider a live-action return as long as Davies, EPs Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter, and producer Phil Collinson are still involved with the show (more on that in a minute).

In the latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine, Davies and Gardner looked back on the lead-up to the show's return and those early seasons. In terms of Eccleston, Davies noted that can considered him but didn't approach him because they didn't believe they could lock him down for the role. Thankfully, Eccleston took the initiative, with Davies sharding, "Don't forget it was Chris Eccleston who wrote to me. He wasn't on the original list because we thought there'd be no way he'd be interested. And then he wrote to me and – boom! – that was what changed the entire history of the show. That email."

As for what Eccleston brought to the game, Davies believes Eccleston's casting changed people's perception of the series as it began to establish its own identity. "I mean, the man [Eccleston] is a master. You get to work with a genius – someone who's still at the top of his game all these years later. That's what we were lucky to get. I can still remember the reaction when his casting hit the news. It was amazing. And that's when our statement of intent got through – that we were making a proper drama, not a kids' runaround," Davies shared, who would go on to offer an example of Eccleston's commitment to the role.

"I remember walking on set one morning and Chris had discovered in some book or online that the Doctor was allergic to aspirin. Which is something William Hartnell's Doctor had said. So we had this great morning of working out whether we could get aspirin into a plot. I did have to tell Chris, 'things that were said in the sixties aren't necessarily lore – you don't have to absolutely follow them.' But that tells you a lot about how he threw himself into it," Davies said. "I hope he knows how well remembered he is as a magnificent Doctor who broke the mould."

Doctor Who: Christopher Eccleston Wants Folks Sacked Before Return

During a Q&A portion of Eccleston & Piper's panel 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. "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 & 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."

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