It’s been revealed that David Tennant, who played the tenth Doctor, is playing the 14th Doctor. Jodie Whittaker, the thirteenth Doctor in the BBC’s long-running and top-rated Doctor Who series, regenerated on Sunday, Oct. 23 in the episode “The Power of the Doctor“.
“David Tennant, previously known as the 10th Doctor, is now also known as the 14th Doctor. Confused? Don’t worry, he seems a little perplexed too,” the BBC said in a statement. “If you thought the appearance of David Tennant was a shock, we’ve got plenty more surprises on the way! The path to Ncuti’s Fifteenth Doctor is laden with mystery, horror, robots, puppets, danger and fun! And how is it connected to the return of the wonderful Donna Noble (to be played again by Catherine Tate)? How, what, why? We’re giving you a year to speculate, and then all hell lets loose!”
The Fourteenth Doctor is the latest incarnation of “The Doctor”, the protagonist of the long-running BBC science-fiction TV program, Doctor Who.
Within the series narrative, the Doctor is a millennia-old, alien Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, with unknown origins, who travels in time and space in their ship called the TARDIS, often with companions. At the end of life, the Doctor regenerates; as a result, the physical look and persona of the Doctor change.
Ncuti Gatwa had formerly been introduced as Jodie Whittaker’s successor as the program’s lead, and plenty of reports said he might play the Fourteenth Doctor and that Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor could regenerate into an incarnation portrayed by Gatwa. Upon Jodie Whittaker’s very last look as the character, she as a substitute regenerated into an appearance a lot like the Tenth Doctor. This character, portrayed by Tennant, becomes the Fourteenth Doctor, with the later explanation that Ncuti Gatwa would actually play the Fifteenth Doctor.
Tennant formerly starred in the program as the Tenth Doctor from 2005 to 2010, and is the third actor to play distinct incarnations of The Doctor in the show, after Sylvester McCoy’s quick portrayal of the Sixth Doctor in the course of his regeneration into the Seventh Doctor in the episode “Time and the Rani” and Tom Baker’s portrayal of The Curator in “The Day of the Doctor“.
The return of a previous actor as a brand new incarnation of the Doctor was formerly proposed through Doctor Who author Sydney Newman in a 1986 interview with BBC One controller Michael Grade after the dismissal of Colin Baker; Newman expected Patrick Troughton, who portrayed the Second Doctor, returning for one series before regenerating right into a woman incarnation.
Tennant opened up about returning to the iconic role on BBC’s Today radio show on October 24th.
“I think I was worried before I got there that it might be difficult to get in the groove again,” he said, adding that it was just like riding a bike because it was “weirdly straightforward.”
Tennant added that “there’s a bit of a precedent in this show that all Doctors maybe turn up for a special now and again, but usually in cohort with the current team.”
“So to get another run round the park was a little joy I never saw coming,” the star added.
“What a lovely, lovely thing to get to revisit something that was such a wonderful, happy, significant time in my life,” he added. “It’s like being given the loveliest present. It’s been an absolute joy.”
The Fourteenth Doctor is about to appear in the sixtieth-anniversary specials in November 2023, executive produced by Russell T Davies. Catherine Tate will reprise her role as companion Donna Noble. Bernard Cribbins will reprise his role as Wilfred Mott, having filmed scenes before his demise in July 2022.
The subsequent Doctor, performed by star Ncuti Gatwa, will take over the Tardis after Tennant, with his first episode airing over the “over the festive period”. We don’t know if this will be a Christmas Day episode or a New Year’s Day slot.
One thing’s for sure. The future of Doctor Who is getting interesting with Russell T Davies back at the helm.
| About the Author Maurice Mitchell has been a passionate science-fiction fan of movies, television, books, and comics since age five. He and his twin brother Nigel created the site “The Geek Twins” to share that passion. Maurice has written and created infographics for sites like The Geek Twins and About.com. His work has been featured on sites like Business Insider, io9 Slashfilm, and more. Read more of his posts | Follow him on Twitter @Mauricem1972 |
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