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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.
01:14Number 9. 2003. 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
01:37new vision, pairing an emotionally traumatised Doctor with a robotic master as a sort of buddy
01:42duo. Schalke's thunder was soon stolen by a bigger, bolder announcement, however.
01:47Two months later, in September, it was announced that Doctor Who would be coming back to BBC
01:52One as a proper television series. It would be creatively spearheaded by acclaimed screenwriter
01:57Russell T. Davies.
01:59Between 26th September 2003 and 26th March 2005, Doctor Who fandom was reinvigorated by the possibilities
02:07of the new series. Discussing potential casting, sharing various production rumours and set photos
02:13on message boards, and renewing their dormant Doctor Who Appreciation Society memberships.
02:18It was a very exciting time to be a Doctor Who fan.
02:22Number 8. 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
02:45successful 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,
03:05I 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.
03:21Number 7. Filming begins with Aliens of London.
03:25With 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 the 18th of July 2004.
03:36Filming at Cardiff Royal Infirmary, doubling for Albion Hospital, Eccleston's first scenes as the
03:42Doctor was him chasing the space pig down the corridor. And there's nothing more Doctor-ish than
03:46that. Alongside the filming of the series, a companion show, Doctor Who Confidential,
03:51was documenting the production 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 as a great
04:02quality 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 and
04:13laughing between takes in the short glimpses of filming. In his autobiography, I Love the Bones of
04:18You, 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
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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 to
05:17keep a creative mindset, to build up some really good creative habits, and even just to optimise
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06:11Once again, a massive thank you to Skillshare, but for now, back to the video.
06:16Number 6. Eccleston embarks on the promotion trail.
06:19In the run-up to Doctor Who's premiere on the 26th of March 2005, Christopher Eccleston embarked on the
06:26promotional trail for the new series. The return of Doctor Who was a big deal. There were billboards,
06:31specially shot trailers and teasers. Eccleston and Piper were front and centre in all of this
06:37promotion. On top of this, there 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 role,
06:48stating,
06:48I was very excited. I felt ready to take on something with that sort of responsibility,
06:53because the scripts are that strong. He also appeared on a special Doctor Who-themed
06:58episode of Mastermind to present the winner with the trophy. On being introduced by host
07:02John Humphreys as Doctor Who, Eccleston offhandedly quips, well, for now. Throughout these appearances,
07:08he's effusive about what drew him to the role. The scripts, the monsters, and the importance of
07:14the Doctor. What nobody knew at this point, however, was that Eccleston had already filmed his final scene
07:19as the Doctor. Number 5. Rose airs two days later, Eccleston is gone. On the 26th of March,
07:272005, Doctor Who triumphantly returned to screens. Christopher Eccleston is the new Doctor Who.
07:35Not even the leak of the first episode or an interruption from Graham Norton could take the
07:39sheen of the staggering 10.81 million viewers that tuned in to watch Rose. Two days later,
07:46the tabloids published reports that Eccleston had already departed the series and the search
07:50for a new Doctor was on. The 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. It wasn't true.
08:00The following Monday, BBC Head of Drama and Commissioning Jane Tranter had to publicly
08:05apologise to Eccleston, stating that the BBC regrets not speaking to Christopher before it
08:10responded to the press questions on Wednesday the 30th of March. The BBC further regrets that it
08:15falsely attributed a statement to Christopher and apologises to him. It was a sour note that
08:20undercut the joy of Doctor Who being back on TV and more popular than ever. The casting of David
08:26Tennant and the series' increasing popularity certainly dispelled much of this unpleasantness.
08:30However, the BBC's decision to misquote Eccleston and upset him further is a real failing on their
08:35part, 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. In June 2010,
08:56Eccleston hit the headlines when, while promoting a drama about John Lennon,
09:00he was asked about his departure. In response, he stated that,
09:03I didn't enjoy the environment and the culture that we, the cast and crew, had to work in.
09:08I thought if I stay in this job, I'm going to have to blind myself to certain things that I
09:12thought were wrong. As an actor who is from a staunch working-class trade union background,
09:17it's unsurprising that he left rather than be complicit in a perceived toxic workplace.
09:22It's unclear if this refers to Series 1's overrunning shoots, Eccleston's rumoured disagreements
09:27with director Keith Boak, or something else entirely. In 2018, Eccleston elaborated further,
09:33suggesting that something had gone very badly wrong between when he excitedly emailed RTD to
09:38offer to play the Doctor and his eventual departure, stating,
09:42My relationship with my three immediate superiors, the showrunner, the producer,
09:46and co-producer, broke 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.
09:56Number 3. 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
10:04the Doctor, but is incredibly complimentary of Stephen Moffat, saying that his scripts delivered
10:10my best work, bringing me closer to finally knowing exactly who the Doctor was than any other time
10:15during the shoot. It's no surprise that he was open to meeting Moffat about appearing in 2013's
10:2150th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor. Ultimately, Eccleston turned the role down because he
10:27felt it didn't do justice to the 9th Doctor. He's glad he did, because it left room for John
10:32Hurt's phenomenal turn as the War Doctor, whom Eccleston believes is a far better actor than me.
10:37It was a promising first step towards Eccleston donning the leather jacket once more, but the
10:42role still held a great deal of trauma for the actor. Furthermore, Eccleston's struggles with
10:47mental health and body dysmorphia were intrinsically linked with the role, observing in the autobiography
10:52that, people love the way I look in that series, but I was very ill. The reward for that illness
10:57was the part, and therein lies the perpetuation of the whole sorry situation.
11:03Number 2. Eccleston begins attending conventions.
11:06Five years after the huge 50th anniversary celebrations, Christopher Eccleston made his first
11:11convention appearance. Rather than a full-on Doctor Who convention, it was the London Film and Comic-Con,
11:17and fans could get their photo taken with the 9th 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 on
11:34social media. Aside from the obvious financial gain, Eccleston was clearly attracted to the convention
11:39circuit by the opportunity to meet his fans. In a 2016 video for BBC Raw to discuss the A-word,
11:46Eccleston talks with fan Gerard Groves about the series, autism, and is visibly moved when Groves
11:52talks about the impact his portrayal of the Doctor had on his childhood. It chimes with Eccleston's
11:57own reflections on the impact of the role on those kids that were growing up in 2005,
12:02watching him as the 9th Doctor, stating,
12:05Everywhere 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.
12:131. 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 9th 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.
12:39As for a potential return in the 60th anniversary, it's a bit more complicated than that.
12:45At the Supernova convention in Melbourne, Eccleston put out an open offer to the BBC.
12:50If you want me back, get me on my own.
12:52With rumours of a potential anniversary anthology series with past Doctors, he may get his wish.
12:58And what better tribute to Christopher Eccleston, the man who re-established Doctor Who and ensured
13:03its continuing legacy than by having him 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 in
13:15the
13:15comments below. And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell.
13:20Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there, and I can be found across various social medias
13:24just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
13:26I've been Ellie with Who Culture, and in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye, sweetie.
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