On one of the most heart-breaking days of our collective lives, 1st January 2010, the Doctor Who episode The End of Time- Part 2 aired. The whole nation cried alongside David Tennant, as the 10th incarnation of the Doctor uttered his final words:
“I don’t want to go.”
My interpretation of that sentence is that it was being simultaneously spoken and felt by three different men: The 10th Doctor (the character), David Tennant (the actor) and Russell T Davies (the writer), all of whom were saying their final goodbyes in this moment. During this era of Doctor Who, the show was only going up and up. Merchandise was all over stores, some of the greatest TV episodes ever were being made and there were 5 spin off shows in the form of; The Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood, Totally Doctor Who, Doctor Who Confidential and Torchwood Declassified. This omnipresence was years ahead of everything that movie franchises (like Marvel and Star Wars) strive to be today. We even got our own version of Avengers: Endgame, 10 years prior, in the form of Journey’s End. The mentality behind David and Russell’s exit was to “quit while you’re ahead”. Maybe this meant that they had left before their time.
In the decade since the exit of David Tennant and Russell T Davies, the franchise has been on a rocky road (in every sense). Don’t get me wrong, I ADORE Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi and Jodie Whittaker. I also have friends who hold each of those Doctors as close to their heart as I do with David. But, objectively, it is undeniable that the David Tennant era was a golden age of Doctor Who, British television and Sci-Fi alike.
David Tennant was my Doctor. My earliest memories of the show stem from when the first two episodes aired (with Christopher Eccleston as the lead) but I was 5 at the time and, therefore, the Moxx of Balhoon and Lady Cassandra gave me nightmares. It wasn’t until Christmas Day 2006 that 7 year old Kyle was captivated by the airing of ‘The Runaway Bride‘ and begged my mum to switch the channel back every time the Coronation Street Christmas Special went to an ad break. From that moment on, I became obsessed with Doctor Who and, more importantly, David Tennant became my role model in life. I pursued being an actor for ten years due to his inspiring performances. Recently, one of my lifelong dreams came true when I finally met him and he signed my arm, which I later got tattooed. I had planned on saying “See you in the 60th anniversary” but realised he’d probably get told or asked that same thing a thousand times on that day alone.
One time, in 2019, I was having an average, mundane shift in work when I heard from a colleague that Russell T Davies was watching a film in one of our cinema screens. Suddenly, I was overcome with excitement. This excitement was slightly punctured when a supervisor strictly warned me that I would be sacked if I asked him for a photograph or signature. I made sure I was there timely for the credits with my bin bag in hand & him (and what I presume to be his date) were the last to leave the screen. I thanked Russell for everything and asked whether he’d ever come back to do “a sneaky little episode” and he said something along the lines of “No, it’s like going back to an old job. You wouldn’t go back to an old job and neither would I” which was a sentiment I completely understood. He then asked whether I wanted a selfie and I said “No, I’ll get sacked if I do” and he told me “You won’t, I’ll make sure of it”. Two years later, in 2021, it was confirmed that Russell T Davies will be returning as the head writer/showrunner of Doctor Who from 2023 onwards. He had lied to my face and it was the best lie I’ve ever been told.
Since the announcement of RTD’s return (amazingly dubbed “RTD2”), we’ve heard that the Tennant era production team are coming back in the form of Bad Wolf Productions including Julie Gardener, Phil Collinson and composer Murray Gold. Hyperbolically speaking, the whole golden age team-expect Tennant- has been announced.
During lockdown 2020, the Doctor Who franchise persisted through it’s multi-media mega story Time Lord Victorious which expanded the plot of the 10th Doctor’s penultimate story. Spanning across books, vinyl’s, audio dramas, escape rooms, immersive theatre, mobile apps, magazines and comics, this event was brilliant. Though the 8th Doctor, 9th Doctor and, current, 13th Doctor were all involved in this story, the main character is clearly the 10th Doctor. Tennant’s incarnation of the Doctor also heavily starred in Big Finish releases that year and in a lot of Doctor Who merchandise. As a result, it became a meme that the BBC was placing Doctor Who on the back of a man who had left 10 years ago and, if they were, then it was clearly working- embodied by the fact that fan-organised Lockdown Twitter re-watches of 10th Doctor episodes eclipsed that of the official re-watches for Jodie Whittaker’s era.
In wake of all this, David Tennant is being heavily rumoured to be reprising the role of the Doctor. Now this is basically a given anyway due to the upcoming 60th anniversary (so obviously there’ll be some form of multi-doctor adventure) and something that is a matter-of-fact given wouldn’t garner paramount excitement. Steven Moffatt knew this and devised John Hurt’s incredible war Doctor for some major shock value for the 50th anniversary. Now, there is literally nothing else that comes to mind which would arise such a shock (whilst also reviving the show in the public consciousness) as Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor regenerating back into fan-favourite David Tennant’s Doctor. Any other possibilities have been done before such as the Doctor not regenerating and simply dying (The Impossible Astronaut) and the Doctor being revealed to have incarnations which predate their first (The Timeless Children). If I really racked my brain then the only other idea would be for the Doctor to regenerate into two separate people but this would not be the colossal shock-hit as David Tennant’s return to the main role would be. This is an obvious and easy victory for the show to magnetise an entire generation back into caring. If I know this then obviously the best writer in the country also knows this.
As previously mentioned, the Tenth Doctor’s final words were “I don’t want to go”. The Doctor did not want to leave that body. There’s a fan theory which I really like behind why he says this, which goes as follows: The 10th regeneration of the Doctor was the shortest & they only lived in that body for around 7 years which is a tiny amount of time when compared to the 200 years that Matt Smith’s Doctor lives during Time of the Doctor and the 4 billion years endured by Peter Capaldi’s in Heaven Sent.
Myself, and every other fan of my age, are nostalgic for the time when Tennant was the Doctor. The 10th Doctor, himself, was constantly nostalgic for his time spent with Rose (which made his death even more heartbreaking because he was only just starting to find who he was without her). Living in the past is a major theme surrounding this Doctor and if the Doctor truly felt that they didn’t want to go, then surely they could fix that for themselves. Literally repeating the past is just another Tuesday morning for the Doctor. Maybe this hypothetical new era could explore the dangers of living in the past and the acceptance of moving on- perhaps to the extent of the Doctor travelling back to 1920’s prohibition era America and gaining a homoerotic, Nick Carraway-esque companion who lives in respectful awe of him.
According to the rumours, Tennant would only reprise his role for three specials and then regenerate into the 15th Doctor and he would perhaps play the 14th with a personality/atheistic which would be distinct from the 10th. It sounds absolutely genius and fan-wanky at the same time. (Also, fuck anyone who complains about “fan service” because, when done right, fan service is absolutely MARVELous. Go and ask the highest grossing movie of all time). I believe that such a narrative approach would allow nostalgic fans, like myself, to receive suitable closure with the past and usher in an audience resurgence ready for whoever follows.
On a downer to argue the other side, the constant theme of Doctor Who is all about embracing change. This formally-obscure 60’s TV show is only alive today because of the phenomenal idea of regeneration to evolve the show so is looking backwards really the best idea? I mean… it is a time travel show after all so, I suppose it could be. Currently, the show is receiving record low viewing figures and, with the combination of a David Tennant return and arguably the best TV writer in the country, RTD could catapult the show upwards with his eyes closed. It just makes sense to me.
Other Possible 14th Doctors
Now, for the past year, I have had a £50 bet on Olly Alexander to be the next Doctor. His acting style absolutely has Doctor energy, which is obvious in Russell T Davies’ show It’s A Sin. Furthermore, Christopher Eccleston had Doctor energy in RTD’s The Second Coming immediately before being casted as the Doctor and the same goes for David Tennant in RTD’s Casanova. However, when the Olly Alexander rumours peaked, his agent came out and announced that Olly’s schedule was completely full due to the music success of his band Years and Years.
Recently, Hugh Grant was on tabloid cover pages as the rumoured next Doctor. His casting would also do amazingly for viewing figures and would make complete sense to me but, honestly, unless it’s David Tennant then I wouldn’t accept another cis-gendered, straight white man as the Doctor at the moment- especially proceeding Jodie Whittaker. I think this would be quite conservative of a choice.
Lydia West gets a lot of backing & absolutely deserves it. She’s fantastic in Russell T Davies’ Years and Years and It’s a Sin AND in Steven Moffat’s Dracula. If she gets cast as the next Doctor then I would be very happy.
Paddy Power listed both Katie Price and Katie Hopkins as potential bets for the next Doctor at 250/1 each. Take a moment to bask in the idea that there are parallel universes out there where this happens.
My dream casting for the Doctor is Danny John-Jules who is famous for playing Cat in Red Dwarf. He would bring so much fun, charisma, campiness and excitement to the show like he does as Cat.
Whoever it is (hopefully Tennant), I’m sure they’ll fit right in as the new Doctor always does.
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