Doctor Who: Christopher Eccleston makes brutal demand for his return

Christopher Eccleston just revealed the circumstances necessary for him to reprise his Doctor Who role – and he didn’t mince his words.

Eccleston portrayed the Ninth Doctor in Series 1 of the 2005 Doctor Who revival. He exited the series after just one year, following tensions with senior staff, including showrunner Russell T Davies.

The English actor hasn’t appeared on Doctor Who since his departure, despite ex-showrunner Steven Moffat inviting him to guest star in 2013’s 50th anniversary special. That said, the 2023 60th anniversary specials featured a deep-cut reference to his tenure in the TARDIS.

But that’s apparently as close as fans will get to a Ninth Doctor comeback – unless the BBC is willing to accommodate Eccleston’s one condition for returning.

Christopher Eccleston makes brutal demand for his Doctor Who return

Eccleston made it clear what it would take for him to show up on Doctor Who again during a panel appearance that recently surfaced on X/Twitter: multiple firings.

“Sack Russell T Davies,” Eccleston said, before setting his sights on Doctor Who’s executive producers. “Sack Jane Tranter, sack Phil Collinson, sack Julie Gardner, and I’ll come back. So, can you arrange that?”

Understandably, Eccleston’s frankness shocked fans. Even those familiar with the star’s well-publicized beef with Doctor Who’s top brass couldn’t quite believe it.

“What on earth happened that he went from sort of soft criticism (at least of Davies) and saying ‘we had disagreements and that’s that’ for years to this?” queried one X user. “Is it just salt that everyone mentioned is back in charge again? Man alive.”

“But Chris… Tell us what you really think,” joked a second. “That response Chris gives comes off like he’s just plum tired of answering the question at this point,” added a third. “Can’t say I really blame the man. At least he’s got his side of the Big Finish audios to give us more of his Doctor.”

It’s worth noting that the BBC seemingly has no intention of complying with Eccleston’s Doctor Who wishes. Davies recently confirmed that he’s already developing several more seasons of the show.

Ncuti Gatwa recalls telling off from Doctor Who showrunner

That doesn’t mean the Doctor Who set is conflict-free, though. On the contrary, Eccleston’s latest successor, Ncuti Gatwa, recalled Davies’ telling him off in a recent interview. His offense? Swearing.

“The only time I’ve ever gotten in trouble for anything was when I swore while wearing a Doctor Who costume,” Gatwa said. “I got called into [Davies’] office. Woo! And he let me know that that’s not acceptable… I was like, ‘Fair enough.'”

For all the latest Doctor Who content, check out Dexerto’s full coverage here.