DOCTOR Who will welcome back Christopher Eccleston in 2021, despite engaging in a bitter feud with the star.
The actor has lifted the lid on his return to the role of the Ninth Doctor, which has both delighted and surprised fans.
Ecclestone has reprised his role in a spin-off series titled Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures.
The A Word star revealed on the Big Finish podcast that he really enjoyed playing the character again.
Speaking to Nicholas Briggs, who is an executive producer at Big Finish and who also voices the Daleks on Doctor Who, shared: “He was always a joy to play, somebody with that amount of optimism, enthusiasm and brains – and heart… two hearts!”
Once being adamant that he would never return to the show, one of the reasons for Christopher’s change of heart were the scripts, which he described as “beautiful.”
He said excitedly: “I felt that you (Briggs) understood what he was all those years ago, and so it was like putting on a pair of old shoes. Running shoes!”
“Doing the scripts, you do get a sense of somebody who’s completely immersed in the lore of the show.”
He added: “I think what I realised, with all my writers, when I did the 13 episodes – and with this – is basically you’re playing the writer. You’re playing Steven Moffat, you’re playing Russell T Davies, you’re playing you, Rob Shearman… you’re playing them, their projected self, as the Doctor.
“And that’s what’s nice, because he has a slightly different voice from episode to episode while having continuity, of course. You all want to be the Doctor!”
Last week Christopher joked a return on the original series of Doctor who would only happen ‘when hell freezes over’ – despite his new spin-off role.
The 56-year-old actor played the Time Lord when the BBC sci-fi series was revived in 2005.
Christopher quit as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor after just one series, and unlike many of his successors who have returned to the role even after their departure from the show, he has no plans to do so.
Appearing on Lorraine Kelly’s show, Christopher was asked if he would ‘pop up’ in Doctor Who any time, and he replied: “I know what you’re getting at, Lorraine, but… only when hell freezes over!”
