Christopher Eccleston and Russell T Davies’ Doctor Who ‘feud’ takes unexpected turn

Christopher Eccleston has long been vocal about his issues during the first season of the Doctor Who reboot
(Picture: BBC/Shutterstock)

Russell T Davies has showered Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston with praise twenty years into rumoured troubles.

The returning showrunner, 61, rebooted the BBC flagship sci-fi series in 2005 with Eccleston at the helm of the Tardis as the Ninth Doctor and Billie Piper as companion Rose Tyler.

His stint lasted only one season and in the years since he has made his displeasure at Davies and the executive producers (Jane Tranter, Phil Collinson, Julie Gardner) crystal clear.

Although Davies has previously shared positive words about Eccleston, the actor doubled down on his stance and called for them to ‘be sacked’ in December 2023 as the condition for him to return to the show.

Despite the professed bad blood, Davies called the 61-year-old actor ‘magnificent’ as he reflected on his run as the Time Lord when marking the reboot’s 20th anniversary.

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‘I mean, the man is a master. You get to work with a genius – someone who’s still at the top of his game all these years later. That’s what we were lucky to get,’ he said.

Russell T Davies reflected on Christopher’s time as the Doctor as the reboot marks 20 years (Picture: Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty)

And recalled his dedication to the role, uncovering information about the Doctor (such as him being allergic to aspirin) that was mentioned as far back as the 60s during William Hartnell’s time as the First Doctor.

He continued to Doctor Who Magazine: ‘That tells you a lot about how he threw himself into it. I hope he knows how well remembered he is, as a magnificent Doctor who broke the mould.’

The iconic British actor opened up about his poor experiences to The Guardian in 2018, claiming what happened around Doctor Who ‘almost destroyed’ his career.

This is the first time Russell T Davies has properly discussed Christopher’s run since the actor’s sacking comments (Picture: Ray Burmiston/BBC Studios)

‘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,’ he added at the time, saying he was forced to flee to America.

In a chat with Radio Times he was more specific, sharing his relationship with Davies and the executive producers ‘broke down irreparably during the first block of filming and it never recovered.

‘They lost trust in me, and I lost faith and trust and belief in them.’

At the time the It’s A Sin creator remarked he had a ‘duty of care’ towards Eccleston.

Rose and the Ninth Doctor are reuniting in a new Big Finish audio (Picture: BBC Picture Archives)

‘That duty of care towards him will extend for the rest of our lives. He will always be my Doctor, and I will always be his producer,’ he told SFX Magazine, saying he didn’t want to get in a ‘tit for tat’.

Although it appears Christopher will not appear on screen as the Doctor any time soon, he has returned to the Whoniverse through the Big Finish audio series.

After recording solo for a few years, he recently announced he is reuniting with Billie Piper for the first time in two decades for 12 stories set between season one episodes Father’s Day and The Empty Child.

Doctor Who returns to BBC One on April 12.

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