Posted in: BBC, Doctor Who, Preview, Trailer, TV | Tagged: bbc, christopher eccleston, doctor who, ninth doctor

Doctor Who: Sorry, But Christopher Eccleston's a One-Doctor Dude

Reportedly, the upcoming Easter weekend could bring the second of the final three adventures for The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Yaz (Mandip Gill), and Dan (John Bishop) in "Legend of the Sea Devils," the second of Whittaker and showrunner Chris Chibnall's final three specials before they wrap their run on the BBC's Doctor Who. From there, Russell T. Davies returns as showrunner with Series 14 set for 2023, as speculation (and betting pools) run wild over who the next Doctor will be. One of the rumors making the rounds is that Davies is going to have past Doctors return for a series of standalone specials celebrating the show's 60th anniversary before revealing who be the new lead heading into Series 14, with Matt Smith and David Tennant some of the names being mentioned. One Doctor who hasn't given a definitive answer about a return to the TARDIS for the celebration is Christopher Eccleston. But if he does return? The actor makes it clear that he's not interested in sharing any screen time with his previous selves.

Thanks to the folks at Doctor Who TV, we learned that Eccleston made it clear that he's a one-Doctor man when it comes to any potential return to the long-running series for its 60th anniversary (and then there are those issues Eccleston still has with Davies) during a Q&A panel over this past weekend at Supernova. "I've never been a fan of multi-Doctor stories," the actor (who has returned as the Ninth Doctor for a number of Big Finish audio dramas) revealed. "When I worked on the series, I had really strong ideas about what works and what doesn't, and I always think that multi-Doctor stories are a bit of a cash-in, and a bit of exploitation. Creatively, they never worked for me. I looked at the script for the 50th anniversary and I felt as soon as I said I wasn't doing it got better because, well, if I'm not in it, it's better."

Eccleston understands that once John Hurt's War Doctor was introduced that the show's canon would have to adjust. "The creation of the War Doctor introduced a whole new facet to the canon. I know it made some people anxious, the fundamentalists, but, no. I mean, the father of us all is William Hartnell, but the greatest Doctor is Jodie Whitaker." But that doesn't mean it changes Eccleston's feelings on his Doctor flying solo, concluding by saying, "The Ninth Doctor, in particular, is a one-man-band. Definitely. So he doesn't work with other Doctors. If you want me back, you'd get me on my own."

With Arthur Lee joining the cast as Ji-Hun and Marlowe Chan-Reeves as Ying Ki, here's a look at the first trailer for "Legend of the Sea Devils" (written by Chibnall and Ella Road, and directed by Haolu Wang):

"Legend of the Sea Devils" finds the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Yaz (Mandip Gill) and Dan (John Bishop) in 19th century China, where a small coastal village is under threat – from both the fearsome pirate queen Madame Ching (Crystal Yu) and a monstrous alien force which she unwittingly unleashes. Will the Doctor, Yaz and Dan emerge from this swashbuckling battle with the Sea Devils to save the planet?

Additional Info: Radio Times

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