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Doctor Who might not have seen the last of Christopher Eccleston...
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00:00Doctor Who is one of those shows that actors can never fully shake.
00:04You can appear as a cannon fodder supporting character in a single episode, and for the
00:09rest of your career that will be the most iconic thing you've ever done.
00:14You'll be attending fan conventions and signing autographs for decades, and it will be the
00:19thing you get asked about the most on social media and in interviews.
00:23Now sure, the vast majority of Doctor Who actors would probably return if asked to,
00:29but there are times when said actors, from main stars to companions to one-off supporting
00:35characters, have publicly discussed that idea, openly declaring their wish to step back into
00:41the TARDIS for another jaunt around the universe.
00:45So with that in mind then, I'm Ellie with Who Culture, and here are 10 actors who want
00:50to return to Doctor Who.
00:52Number 10 – Michelle Gomez
00:54Michelle Gomez last played the wickedly funny villainess Missy in 2017's Series 10 finale,
01:02where she was seemingly killed off by her prior, rather angry incarnation.
01:06However, in typical master fashion, Missy survived this apparent demise and soon went on to torment
01:12the 13th Doctor.
01:14Gomez's infectious energy made her an instant hit with fans, and she clearly had a blast
01:19in the role, so it's no surprise that she's eager to return at some point in the future.
01:24In 2019, the actress told Radio Times that she was completely open to stepping back into
01:30Missy's shoes, expressing particular interest in squaring off against Jodie Whittaker's
01:3513th Doctor, stating,
01:37With Whittaker sets to regenerate at the end of 2022, a Missy 13 showdown doesn't seem
01:53to be on the cards.
01:54But hey, who knows?
01:56Maybe Chris Chibnall has managed to squeeze that confrontation into November's centenary
02:00special.
02:01Number 9.
02:02Billy Piper
02:03After leaving the show in 2008's Emotional Series 4 finale, followed by a brief cameo
02:09in 2010's The End of Time Part 2, 50th anniversary special The Day of the Doctor saw Billy Piper
02:15return to Doctor Who, swapping the down-to-earth charm of Rose Tyler for the steely power of
02:20the Time Lord superweapon, The Moment.
02:23As for another return to the show?
02:25Well, there was a time where she seemed completely disinterested in the idea, telling The Guardian
02:31that she wouldn't go back.
02:32But in recent years, she does seem to have warmed to the idea, explaining in a 2021 video
02:37that if the circumstances and story were right, then she would be more than willing
02:42to step back into the TARDIS, adding that she's now been away from the show long enough
02:46to start to miss it.
02:48Rose is one of the most popular companions to come from the modern series.
02:53And seeing as it was Russell T Davies who created her, it would seem somewhat poetic for
02:58him to include her in his second era as showrunner.
03:01Number 8, Alex Kingston.
03:03The story of River Song was wrapped up beautifully in the 2015 Christmas special.
03:09But there are so many reasons why it would make sense for River to come back.
03:14Chief among these is her wibbly-wobbly timeline, which makes it easy to say that her next adventure
03:19takes place anywhere between Let's Kill Hitler and the husbands of River Song, with little
03:24explanation necessary. Combining this with the fact that she's one of the most fun companions
03:29in the show and a perennial fan favourite, and it's no surprise that Alex Kingston is
03:34gunning for River to reappear, declaring that I love the character and I think that there
03:39are wonderful potential opportunities down the road in a 2019 interview.
03:44With such an open-ended timeline, it wouldn't be a shock to see River pop up for another
03:49one-off adventure. She is the Doctor's wife, after all.
03:52Number 7, Carol Ann Ford.
03:54As companion Susan Foreman, Carol Ann Ford's last Doctor Who appearance was in 1983's
04:00The Five Doctors. We don't talk about dimensions in time.
04:03So it's been a fair old while since we saw her in the role.
04:07Despite this, Ford clearly doesn't feel like she's lost that spark, or that she's rusty.
04:12In a 2020 interview with SFX magazine, the actress was asked if she wanted to return to the show,
04:18perhaps for an adventure with Jodie Whittaker's 13th Doctor, to which she responded in the
04:23affirmative. Ford also told a hilarious story about the time she visited Peter Capaldi on
04:29the Doctor Who set. According to her, Mr Attack Eyebrows danced around the TARDIS singing
04:34I want you to come back, I want you to come back, which prompted her to think, my god,
04:38I'd love to work with him. A photograph of Susan famously appeared on the 12th Doctor's
04:43desk in the series 10 opener. So if we take this to mean that the Doctor is still thinking about
04:49her, then there is an in-built story reason to bring Susan back. That and the fact that the first
04:55Doctor literally promised Susan that he would visit her again, a promise he has yet to fulfil.
05:00Number 6, David Tennant. Since regenerating into Matt Smith in early 2010, David Tennant's 10th Doctor
05:07has been in so many comics, video games and audio dramas, and a starring role in the 50th special,
05:13that it never really felt like he truly left. Given his willingness to come back for all those
05:19expanded media projects over the years, it isn't a surprise that he's also keen to return in an
05:24on-screen capacity. Stating in a 2019 interview that he'd love to see a 60th anniversary special
05:31that united him with Whittaker, Capaldi, Smith and Eccleston's Doctors. In a more recent 2021
05:38interview, he added, anything is possible. Never say never to anything. Given the 10th Doctor's
05:44popularity being as high as it is, and Tennant's old pal Russell T Davies returning to spearhead Doctor
05:50Who in 2023, it almost seems inevitable that we will see Tennant don the converse and browncoat again
05:57within the next few years. Number 5, Georgia Tennant.
06:01Whenever the subject of abandoned Doctor Who plot threads is raised, one that almost
06:07always gets mentioned is the fate of Jenny, the Doctor's daughter. Though Russell T Davies and
06:13Stephen Moffat have jokingly revealed that she flew into a moon and died, we don't know what she's been
06:18up to since her last on-screen appearance 14 years ago. Actress Georgia Tennant, David's wife,
06:25was never asked to return to the show, but to this day she continues to hold out hope that the call
06:30might arrive. In a recent chat with Metro, Tennant stated that she would obviously return to the show
06:35if asked, adding that she even has her own storyline in mind. I like the idea that she's sort of gone
06:40off and had a couple of kids and she's let herself go a bit, and she's enjoying her life and then
06:45someone comes back and goes, no, come on, you've got to go back to work. Considering that the Doctor
06:50believes Jenny to be dead, there's quite a lot of dramatic potential for reuniting these characters
06:55on-screen. And if the 14th Doctor is a woman, it would be interesting to see Jenny's reaction to
07:01her father's new look. 4. Paul McGann
07:04As Doctors go, Paul McGann's 8th is in a unique position. Having not been granted a full series
07:10of television, audiences don't know his Doctor as well as they know the rest of them. So it almost
07:16feels like a no-brainer to bring him back. McGann himself also shares this stance,
07:20telling Doctor Who magazine in 2016 that he feels like his on-screen tenure isn't yet over,
07:27and that there's a bit of potential in an 8th Doctor return. He then jokingly added,
07:31I'm younger than Capaldi, before explaining that if he were to return, then the story reasons would
07:37have to be compelling. The positive response to The Night of the Doctor proves that there's still a
07:42hunger for McGann's take on the Time Lord, and it just feels right for him to get his due.
07:483. Matt Smith
07:50Matt Smith has made the jump to Hollywood since leaving Doctor Who in 2013, with starring roles
07:56in Terminator Genisys, Netflix's historical epic The Crown, Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho,
08:02and this year's Morbius. Like Karen Gillan, it almost feels like he's getting too big to step back
08:08down into the relatively low-budget world of Doctor Who. But despite all his success,
08:13he still wouldn't mind donning the tweed jacket and bow tie at some point in the future. In fact,
08:19in 2017, he didn't just tell MTV that he wants to come back. He openly declared that he will be back
08:27one day. Yeah, why not? I'd come back. If the timing was right. Look, I'll be back one day when I'm old and
08:33grey, which isn't far off. Much like The Tenth Doctor, Eleven's popularity makes him one of the
08:38top candidates for a return. And with Smith still being so young, he could get away with playing the
08:44role for many decades to come. 2. Christopher Eccleston
08:48Thought well over a decade, the narrative surrounding a potential return to Doctor Who
08:53for Christopher Eccleston has been that he will never do it in a million years, primarily due to
08:58the poor experience he had during his short tenure on the series in the mid-2000s. And while it's
09:04certainly true that he has problems with the way the show was run during his brief tenure,
09:09the actor does seem to have softened on Doctor Who in recent years, and has even opened himself
09:14up to a potential on-screen return. Many fans thought they'd never see Eccleston return to play
09:19the Ninth Doctor in any capacity, and yet, in 2020, it was announced that he'd be reprising the role for
09:25a series of big Finnish audio dramas, a clear sign that he wasn't totally averse to dipping his feet
09:31in Hooniverse waters. More recently, he's gone one step further, indicating that he'd be down for a
09:37proper on-screen return, just not in a multi-Doctor special, stating,
09:42The Ninth Doctor in particular is a one-man band, definitely, so he doesn't work with other Doctors.
09:47If you want me back, you get me on my own. With Eccleston's rocky history with the show,
09:51it does feel unlikely that we'll see him picking up that sonic screwdriver once again.
09:56But the chances of it happening have increased slightly in recent years.
10:01Number 1. Catherine Tate
10:03In early 2021, it was reported that Catherine Tate had been spotted in Liverpool at the exact
10:09same time that Doctor Who were filming series 13 in that city. And while it was later revealed that
10:16she very much wasn't in Liverpool, this flimsy rumour caused quite the stir in Doctor Who fan circles.
10:22So you can imagine how hyped people would be if Donna Noble did actually return to the show.
10:28Fortunately then, Catherine Tate is very much open to the idea, telling the one show,
10:33No one's been in touch, but I'm on the same number, I'd just like to say,
10:36so if you've got the money, I've got the time.
10:38Donna is another character closely associated with returning showrunner Russell T Davies,
10:43and so, on the surface at least, that does increase the chances of him wheeling her out
10:47for another spin. You simply cannot contain the best temp in Chiswick.
10:52And that concludes our list. If you can think of any other actors who would be willing to return
10:56to Doctor Who, then do let us know in the comments below. And while you're there,
11:00don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell. Also, head over to Twitter
11:04and follow us there, and I can be found across various social medias just by searching
11:08Ellie Littlechild. I've been Ellie with Who Culture, and in the words of Riversong herself,
11:13goodbye, sweeties.
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