*Some exciting news to report for all “Doctor Who” fans (including myself), Christopher Eccleston is returning to play the Time Lord for a series of audio adventures.
“After 15 years, it will be exciting to revisit the Ninth Doctor’s world, bringing back to life a character I love playing,” the British actor said in a statement.
Eccleston played the role in the show’s 2005 revival, but quit after one season due to creative differences with show bosses.
“I first talked to Christopher about returning to the role of the Doctor at the Gallifrey One convention in February this year,” said Jason Haigh-Ellery, the chairman of Big Finish behind a plethora of Doctor Who audio projects. “Christopher said he was enjoying meeting the fans and was pleased that his Doctor was remembered so fondly. He indicated he would be open to discussing a project with Big Finish.
“And then the pandemic happened and time moved both quickly and very slowly. Over recent months, ideas have been exchanged, and discussions had. I am so pleased that Christopher has decided to return to the role with us — and I’m excited to welcome him to the Big Finish family as we discover the new adventures of the Ninth Doctor.”
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Here’s more from EW.com:
Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures will be released as a four-disc collector’s edition box or as a download with each featuring three brand new audio adventures and a variety of behind-the-scenes extras. The first volume will be released in May.
In a 2010 interview with Radio Times, Eccleston admitted on-set strife was the cause of his exit from “Doctor Who” after one season.
“I was open-minded, but I decided after my experience on the first series that I didn’t want to do any more,” he said. “I didn’t enjoy the environment and the culture that we, the cast and crew, had to work in.”
Years later, Eccleston claimed that leaving iconic series left him “blacklisted” by the BBC.
“What happened around Doctor Who almost destroyed my career,” he told The Guardian in March 2018. “I gave them a hit show and I left with dignity and then they put me on a blacklist. I was carrying my own insecurities as it was something I had never done before and then I was abandoned, vilified in the tabloid press and blacklisted. I was told by my agent at the time: ‘The BBC regime is against you. You’re going to have to get out of the country and wait for regime change.’ So I went away to America and I kept on working because that’s what my parents instilled in me. My dad always said to me: ‘I don’t care what you do–sweeping the floor or whatever you’re doing – just do the best job you can.’ I know it’s cliched and northern and all that bollocks, but it applies.”
Watch the teaser trailer for “Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures” below:
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