David Tennant drops biggest hint yet his Doctor Who story isn’t over

David Tennant has hinted at a potential return as Doctor Who in the famous BBC series (Picture: Getty)

David Tennant has shed light on whether he will ever return to Doctor Who.

The former Time Lord was rumoured to be making a comeback to the show in February following claims that Ncuti Gatwa was quitting his lead role.

During a red carpet appearance at the 2025 Bafta TV Awards, David appeared to solidify these rumours.

The Good Omens and Rivals star spoke about how the show has been running ‘for 60 years and it shows no signs of stopping’.

The 54-year-old told Deadline: ‘And part of what makes it such a vibrant show is that it keeps renewing and finding new ways to tell stories… and as far as I’m aware, that’s happening without me for a while.’

Get personalised updates on Doctor Who

Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro’s TV Newsletter.

Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we’ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you.

Addressing whether he might be returning to the series, he added: ‘I promise you I’d tell you if it was true.’

David starred as Doctor Who alongside Billie Piper (Picture: BBC) He was the show’s tenth doctor between 2005 and 2010 (Picture: BBC)

David became the show’s 10th Doctor in a three-season stretch between 2005 and 2010.

Since then he has also made a couple of returns as a guest, most recently to mark the 60th anniversary in 2023.

This comes after an Irish producer dubbed David as ‘one of the three most dislikable people he has ever had the misfortune to spend time with’. The actor has yet to respond to the claims.

Aside from working on the second season of Rivals – in which he plays Lord Tony Baddingham in the Disney Plus adaptation of Dame Jilly Cooper’s book – David’s latest project saw him host the gameshow Genius Game.

While some viewers enjoyed the show, others found the concept too complicated, and it has received low ratings.

David could potentially be making a return as the Doctor at some point in the future (Picture: BBC) The Rivals star pictured on the Bafta red carpet last night (Picture: Getty)

The show was even branded an ‘expensive flop’ after it made its debut on ITV last week.

While it originally aired on a Wednesday and Thursday in the week, ITV later announced a schedule change, which was rumoured to have been caused by the muted reception.

Only 1.2million viewers tuned in for the first episode, according to Broadcast Now, which put it significantly behind Race Across the World’s 3.1m in the same timeslot on BBC One.

Speaking to The Sun, a source said: ‘Genius Game was a reflection of ITV’s rush to create the next big challenge show following the huge success of The Traitors.’

The source then claimed that, while David is a household name, costs went up as a result of his involvement with the show, which means the disappointing ratings have hit harder.

Doctor Who is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.