- 7 hours ago
Thanks to Skillshare for sponsoring today's video.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Hello, only me! Just before we started, I want to give a quick shout out to Skillshare,
00:05who we are happy to be working with here on Who Culture to help you access all sorts of amazing
00:10classes, but more on that later. On stage in Melbourne, Australia, Christopher Eccleston
00:16spoke about the possibility of his return to the role of the ninth doctor for the 60th anniversary
00:21of Doctor Who. Eccleston denounced the idea of multi-doctor stories as a cash grab and said
00:27that if he was to return, it would be as a solo doctor. It marks a significant shift in his
00:32original assertion that he'd return to the role when hell freezes over, but it also feels like
00:37his return to the TV series is as far away as ever. The circumstances of Eccleston's departure from the
00:42Who show is something of an ongoing mystery in Doctor Who. Originally, it was assumed to be a
00:47simple case of a decision not to renew his contract. After all, he wasn't known for sticking around in
00:52popular series for long. His character in Cracker was memorably written out after one season,
00:58for example. In the years that have followed, however, more information has come out via
01:02interviews, unofficial sources, and Eccleston's own autobiography. So with that in mind then,
01:07I'm Ellie with Who Culture, and let's take a look at the true story behind Christopher Eccleston's
01:12Doctor Who exit.
01:139. He's back, and it's about time
01:19In 2003, the 40th anniversary year, it was announced that Doctor Who would be returning
01:25to the BBC with a brand new series. Twice. The Paul Cornell-scripted Richard E. Grant-starring
01:31Scream of the Schalke was announced in July as a new animated era for the show. It was a bold new
01:37vision, pairing an emotionally traumatised Doctor with a robotic master as a sort of buddy duo.
01:43Schalke's thunder was soon stolen by a bigger, bolder announcement, however.
01:48Two months later, in September, it was announced that Doctor Who would be coming back to BBC One
01:52as a proper television series. It would be creatively spearheaded by acclaimed screenwriter
01:57Russell T. Davies. Between 26th September 2003 and 26th March 2005, Doctor Who fandom was
02:05reinvigorated by the possibilities of the new series, discussing potential casting, sharing various
02:11production rumours and set photos on message boards, and renewing their dormant Doctor Who
02:16Appreciation Society memberships. It was a very exciting time to be a Doctor Who fan.
02:238. Eccleston is cast for Doctor Who's Second Coming
02:26Names thrown around as a potential ninth Doctor included Tom Baker and Judi Dench. As Russell T.
02:32Davies nodded along to these suggestions, he was harbouring a desire to cast Hugh Grant in the role.
02:37Quite what the battle-scarred Doctor would be like in the hands of Grant is anyone's guess,
02:41as Grant declined the offer, something he's said to have later regretted after seeing how
02:46successful the show became. A name that nobody had even considered was Christopher Eccleston,
02:51an actor known for his work in grounded, realistic, seminal dramas like Our Friends in the North
02:56and Cracker. He was not an actor known for the lightness of touch many expected from the character
03:01of the Doctor. In an interview to announce his casting, Eccleston noted that,
03:05"...I don't think he's going to be as eccentric and foppish as he was in some of his incarnations."
03:10Eccleston was cast after he emailed Davies to register his interest. Having previously worked
03:15on The Second Coming with RTD, Eccleston told the press he was excited to be working with him again.
03:217. Filming begins with Aliens of London
03:24With Eccleston cast as the Doctor and former pop star and full-time actor Billy Piper cast as his
03:30companion Rose, the 21st Century Incarnation entered production on 18 July 2004. Filming at
03:37Cardiff Royal Infirmary, doubling for Albion Hospital, Eccleston's first scenes as the Doctor
03:42was him chasing the space pig down the corridor. And there's nothing more Doctor-ish than that.
03:47Alongside the filming of the series, a companion show Doctor Who Confidential was documenting the
03:52production and provided valuable insights into Eccleston's brief time on the show.
03:57In his interviews, he clearly grasps the character, noting the Doctor's open-mindedness
04:02as a great quality for a television hero, while also highlighting his brutal alien pragmatism.
04:08Eccleston and Piper also clearly get on very well together, and are regularly seen smiling
04:13and laughing between takes in the short glimpses of filming. In his autobiography,
04:17I Love the Bones of You, Eccleston reflects on his working relationship with Piper, stating,
04:22What truly amazes me is I know how nervous Billie was at the start. She thought I was
04:27some big, serious performer, and she didn't have the belief in herself as an actor. She
04:31proved herself, of course, to be way better than any of the rest of us.
04:35Now, at the beginning of this video, I told you that we have partnered with Skillshare,
04:39and for those of you who don't know, Skillshare is a huge online learning community with thousands
04:45of classes in illustration, video, design, photography, cooking, crafts, and pretty much
04:52anything else that you can think of. Now, we are absolutely delighted to be working with
04:56Skillshare here on WhoCulture, because we've actually used some of their classes to help
05:00us with our own videos here on the channel. For example, Thomas Frank's Productivity for
05:06Creators. Now, with the world still being a little bit crazy, it can sometimes be hard
05:11to stay creative and avoid burnout. But this class was absolutely amazing. It helped us
05:17to keep a creative mindset, to build up some really good creative habits, and even just
05:23to optimise the workspace in order for you to be as productive as you can be. Now, we really
05:29want you to have the same experience as us and have access to these classes. So, the first
05:351000 WhoCulture subscribers to click the link in the description below will be given a one
05:41month free trial on Skillshare so that you can explore your creativity too. Just click the
05:48link in the description below, and if you are one of the first 1000 to do so, you will be
05:52given unlimited access to thousands of classes run by some truly wonderful teachers for an entire
05:59month for free. So, if you are a creative pro, like me, or a haphazard hobbyist, also like
06:06me, you too can get your creative juices flowing. Once again, a massive thank you to Skillshare,
06:13but for now, back to the video.
06:16Number 6. Eccleston embarks on the promotion trail. In the run-up to Doctor Who's premiere
06:21on the 26th of March 2005, Christopher Eccleston embarked on the promotional trail for the new series.
06:28The return of Doctor Who was a big deal. There were billboards, specially shot trailers, and teasers.
06:34Eccleston and Piper were front and centre in all of this promotion. On top of this,
06:39there was also media appearances on some stalwart British shows.
06:42Eccleston sat on the Blue Peter sofa to talk about how he felt about taking on such an iconic
06:47role, stating,
06:48I was very excited. I felt ready to take on something with that sort of responsibility,
06:53because the scripts are that strong.
06:55He also appeared on a special Doctor Who-themed episode of Mastermind to present the winner with
07:00the trophy. On being introduced by host John Humphreys as Doctor Who, Eccleston offhandedly
07:05quips,
07:06Well, for now. Throughout these appearances, he's effusive about what drew him to the role.
07:11The scripts, the monsters, and the importance of the Doctor.
07:15What nobody knew at this point, however, was that Eccleston had already filmed his final scene
07:19as the Doctor.
07:21Number 5. Rose airs Two Days Later, Eccleston is Gone.
07:26On the 26th of March 2005, Doctor Who triumphantly returned to screens.
07:31Christopher Eccleston is the new Doctor Who.
07:35Not even the leak of the first episode or an interruption from Graham Norton could take the
07:40off the staggering 10.81 million viewers that tuned in to watch Rose.
07:45Two days later, the tabloids published reports that Eccleston had already departed the series,
07:50and the search for a new Doctor was on.
07:52The BBC responded to these rumours two days later, on the 30th of March,
07:56stating that Eccleston left the role for fear of being typecast.
07:59It wasn't true.
08:00The following Monday, BBC Head of Drama and Commissioning Jane Tranter had to publicly apologise
08:05to Eccleston, stating that the BBC regrets not speaking to Christopher before it responded
08:10to the press questions on Wednesday, 30th of March.
08:13The BBC further regrets that it falsely attributed a statement to Christopher and apologises to him.
08:19It was a sour note that undercut the joy of Doctor Who being back on TV and more popular than ever.
08:24The casting of David Tennant and the series' increasing popularity certainly dispelled much
08:29of this unpleasantness.
08:30However, the BBC's decision to misquote Eccleston and upset him further is a real failing on their
08:36part, especially given how much work he did to promote the series.
08:404. Stories of on-set troubles emerge in the years after Eccleston's departure
08:45The abrupt nature of Eccleston's departure and the poor handling of the announcement by the BBC
08:50has led to it being revisited in various interviews with the actor.
08:54In June 2010, Eccleston hit the headlines when, while promoting a drama about
08:59John Lennon, he was asked about his departure. In response, he stated that,
09:03As an actor who is from a staunch working-class trade union background, it's unsurprising that
09:18he left rather than be complicit in a perceived toxic workplace. It's unclear if this refers to
09:23Series 1's overrunning shoots, Eccleston's rumoured disagreements with director Keith Boak,
09:28or something else entirely. In 2018, Eccleston elaborated further, suggesting that something
09:34had gone very badly wrong between when he excitedly emailed RTD to offer to play the doctor and his
09:40eventual departure, stating,
09:41My relationship with my three immediate superiors, the showrunner, the producer, and co-producer,
09:47broke down irreparably during the first block of filming, and it never recovered.
09:51They lost trust in me, and I lost faith and trust and belief in them.
09:563. Eccleston meets with Moffat for Day of the Doctor
09:59In his autobiography, Eccleston feels that Russell T Davies didn't quite know what he wanted from the doctor,
10:05but is incredibly complimentary of Stephen Moffat, saying that his scripts delivered my best work,
10:11bringing me closer to finally knowing exactly who the doctor was than any other time during the shoot.
10:17It's no surprise that he was open to meeting Moffat about appearing in 2013's 50th anniversary
10:22special, The Day of the Doctor. Ultimately, Eccleston turned the role down because he felt it didn't do
10:28justice to the ninth doctor. He's glad he did, because it left room for John Hurt's phenomenal turn as
10:33the war doctor, whom Eccleston believes is a far better actor than me. It was a promising first
10:39step towards Eccleston donning the leather jacket once more, but the role still held a great deal
10:43of trauma for the actor. Furthermore, Eccleston's struggles with mental health and body dysmorphia
10:49were intrinsically linked with the role, observing in the autobiography that
10:53people love the way I look in that series, but I was very ill. The reward for that illness was the
10:58part, and therein lies the perpetuation of the whole sorry situation.
11:022. Eccleston Begins Attending Conventions
11:06Five years after the huge 50th anniversary celebrations, Christopher Eccleston made his
11:11first convention appearance. Rather than a full-on Doctor Who convention, it was the London Film
11:16and Comic-Con, and fans could get their photo taken with the ninth doctor for the princely sum of £95.
11:23Eccleston's appearances on the convention circuit also opened up the opportunities for him to bump
11:28into other Doctor actors like Matt Smith, with their very tactile and lovely meeting going viral
11:33on social media. Aside from the obvious financial gain, Eccleston was clearly attracted to the
11:39convention circuit by the opportunity to meet his fans. In a 2016 video for BBC Raw to discuss
11:45the A-word, Eccleston talks with fan Gerard Groves about the series, autism, and is visibly moved
11:51when Groves talks about the impact his portrayal of the Doctor had on his childhood. It chimes with
11:57Eccleston's own reflections on the impact of the role on those kids that were growing up in 2005,
12:02watching him as the ninth Doctor, stating,
12:04Everywhere I go, Cornwall, Belfast, Glasgow, I now get people of a certain age, mid-twenties,
12:10coming up to me. You were my Doctor, they tell me.
12:14Number 1. If you want me back, get me on my own
12:17As Eccleston continued to make convention appearances, he came into contact with Big
12:21Finnish chairman Jason Haig Ellery at the Gallifrey One convention in early 2020.
12:26Since that fateful meeting, Eccleston has recorded a full 12-episode series as the ninth Doctor,
12:32with another one on the way. It's certainly a positive sign that he's been able to move on
12:36from the damage and strain that playing the part put upon him. As for a potential return
12:41in the 60th anniversary, it's a bit more complicated than that. At the Supernova
12:46convention in Melbourne, Eccleston put out an open offer to the BBC.
12:50If you want me back, get me on my own. With rumours of a potential anniversary anthology
12:55series with past Doctors, he may get his wish. And what better tribute to Christopher Eccleston,
13:00the man who re-established Doctor Who and ensured its continuing legacy than by having
13:05him return in 2023, 20 years after the show was recommissioned.
13:11And there you have it. If you can think of any other juicy details, then do let us know
13:15in the comments below. And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap
13:19that notification bell. Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there, and I can be found across
13:23various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
13:26I've been Ellie with Who Culture, and in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye, sweetie.
Recommended
10:53
|
Up next
4:20
12:00
11:49
10:02
20:39
13:25
10:49
12:31
22:35
15:43
14:28
15:29
2:19
2:37
Be the first to comment