A Former ‘Doctor Who’ Star Will Only Return on One Condition, and the Internet Loves It
Being a Doctor Who fan is usually a wild ride. From regenerations, to bonkers premises for episodes, to the long wait between seasons, there is usually a lot to unpack. Lately, that has also included the return of some familiar faces, with David Tennant briefly playing the Fourteenth Doctor in a string of episodes, and the most recent season finale teasing that Billie Piper might be potentially playing the Sixteenth Doctor.
One face who has yet to come back is Christopher Eccleston, whose single-stint season as the Ninth Doctor helped kick off the modern era of the franchise. While he has reprised his role in Big Finish audio dramas, he has yet to return to the screen… and now, he has some specific conditions for his return.
The Mary Sue was on hand for last weekend’s Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo (also known as C2E2). During Eccleston’s spotlight panel at the convention, he was asked whether or not he would be open to returning to the world of Doctor Who. As he pretty bluntly put it: “I thought about this, [and] not with the four people who are running it now.”
This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to diehard Who fans, as Eccleston has previously voiced his dissatifaction with current (and also former) showrunner Russell T. Davies, as well as current executive producers Jane Tranter, Phil Collinson, and Julie Gardner. Back in December of 2023, he said that the four creatives would need to be “sacked” in order for him to seriously consider returning.
He’s Cooking…
But it’s what Eccleston said next that is noteworthy: he would especially be willing to return to Doctor Who if it was under a female showrunner, especially if she had grown up watching his original stint in the role in 2005.
“Here’s the thing: Doctor Who’s written for boys,” Eccleston explained. “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.”
In the days since these comments went viral at Eccleston’s panel, Whovians have been sharing an array of pretty positive reactions. From declaring that his comments are “king shit,” to arguing that the show should’ve had a female showrunner long time ago, to plenty of women acknowledging that they fit the bill of fans who grew up with the series.
His comments also make you stop and think about the gender disparity of Who, both in front of and behind the scenes. After all, Jodie Whittaker getting cast as the first female Doctor in 2017 was already enough of a huge deal at the time. While women have written and directed countless iconic episodes of the show, the modern era has really been defined by its showrunners: not just because of casting, but because of their role spearheading where the story goes next.
It’s undeniable that Doctor Who has always had a female audience, whose love for the show and its endless potential has manifested in cosplays and fan works and countless handmade Tom Baker scarves. I know I, personally, gravitated towards the show when I did because of how much fun other women I knew in fandom spaces seemed to be having following the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors. Eccleston is absolutely right that one of those fans could probably bring a very fresh perspective to Doctor Who… let’s just hope we don’t have to wait forever to see it.
(featured image: BBC)
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