- 8 months ago
Should Christopher Eccleston return to Doctor Who? Yes. But will it happen? Don't count on it.
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00:00Doctor Who is one of those rare shows where there's always the possibility for a character to return.
00:05With everything being so wibbly-wobbly and timey-wimey and really just quite weird, to be honest,
00:10things like death don't really mean much.
00:12I mean, Rory died like a million times and he just kept coming back.
00:16That said, some stars of the show are on record that they're unlikely to ever return,
00:21and here are the reasons why.
00:23I'm Ellie for Who Culture, and this is 10 Actors Who Won't Return to Doctor Who.
00:27Number 10, Daphne Ashbrook.
00:30Despite only appearing in one TV story, the Eighth Doctor had an incredible afterlife,
00:35featuring in countless books, comics and audio dramas,
00:38before returning to our screens in The Night of the Doctor and The Power of the Doctor.
00:42Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of his first companion, Grace Holloway.
00:47Sure, Grace declined the Doctor's offer of a place in the TARDIS at the end of the TV movie,
00:51but we still might have reasonably expected her to show up again at some point.
00:55While Daphne Ashbrook has appeared in Big Finish audios as other characters,
00:59she's never appeared as Grace.
01:01As she recalled in 2022, this is because the TV movie was an American co-production.
01:06She said,
01:07I have done some Big Finish audios, but essentially I was told,
01:10you can't be Grace, because someone finally found out that it was Universal that owned her,
01:14and unless they were willing to buy the rights, we could not legally bring her back.
01:17If the character can't even come back on audio, then I would say it's pretty safe to assume that
01:22a TV return is also firmly off the table.
01:24It's a sad state of affairs, which basically means that Grace's story will never be concluded.
01:30I guess just make one up in your head.
01:32Number 9, Billy Piper.
01:33Unlike her Series 1 co-lead, Christopher Eccleston,
01:37Billy Piper got on well enough with the production team to continue for a second series,
01:41before returning to the show in 2008, 2010, and 2013.
01:46These days, she's busy with other projects, such as I Hate Susie, a show she also co-created.
01:51And also, she starred in three seasons of Rose Tyler, the Dimension Canon for Big Finish,
01:55plus a handful of other audio stories alongside David Tennant.
01:58So now she's less inclined to play Rose again on TV.
02:02As she insisted in one 2022 interview, any comeback would have to be on her own,
02:06very particular terms.
02:08She said,
02:08If it was shot in London.
02:09Sorry, that's a really loveless answer.
02:11There's a running theme here, I don't want to do much work.
02:13If it was like four episodes all shot in London, then yeah, I'd be like a rat up a drainpipe for that.
02:17Given that Doctor Who is currently based in Cardiff, a Rose return, therefore, seems unlikely.
02:22Fitting as it would be for the Bad Wolf to set foot inside Bad Wolf Studios.
02:26In 2021, she also stated,
02:28So, while on other occasions she has seemed more open to a return,
02:36it would clearly take a lot to coax her back for another go.
02:398. Tom Baker
02:41With William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, and John Pertwee long since past,
02:45Tom Baker is the oldest living Doctor actor.
02:48Initially, he was reluctant to return, declining the opportunity to appear in The Five Doctors.
02:53But he's made up for it in the years since,
02:55from 1993's Dimensions in Time to the 2017 edition of Sharda.
03:00The jewel in the crown has to be his return as the curator in 2013's The Day of the Doctor, though.
03:05But might this end up being his last contribution to televised Doctor Who?
03:08With the great man having recently turned 90, and not as mobile as he once was,
03:13it seems more likely than not.
03:15Baker was invited to appear in The Power of the Doctor as one of the Guardians of the Edge,
03:19but wasn't available.
03:20It doesn't sound like he wants to come back either,
03:23recently telling Radio Times that he, quote,
03:25Avoids the other Doctors.
03:26Not with any malice, he said.
03:28A degree of contempt, perhaps?
03:30But mildly.
03:31Mildly contemptuous.
03:32Hopefully we do see the fourth Doctor or the curator again,
03:35but it doesn't seem likely at the moment.
03:37Number 7.
03:38Sophia Miles
03:39Every now and then, Doctor Who guest characters come back for more.
03:43Craig Irwins, Professor Travers, and Riggsie were all conceived as one-offs,
03:47but ended up returning.
03:48Quite often a guest actor is very in-demand to begin with,
03:51or becomes that way after appearing in the show,
03:53making it difficult for them to commit to multiple episodes.
03:55That's why the likes of Sally Sparrow have never returned,
03:58despite Carey Mulligan recently expressing interest in revisiting the character.
04:02Madame de Pompadour was another Stephen Moffat creation who left a lasting impact.
04:07However, actress Sophia Miles ruled out a return as early as 2008,
04:11feeling it would cheapen the girl in the fireplace.
04:13She said,
04:14Well, I feel so happy that that episode was the one that I did,
04:17because it was so magical and special.
04:19I feel like to go back, I don't know if it could ever be as fabulous as that.
04:22Years later, she said she'd be open to returning as a different character,
04:26but to do so anytime soon would be, quote, inappropriate.
04:29Now, Miles did end up playing Renette again in the Doctor Who lockdown short Pompadour,
04:34but those were rare circumstances.
04:36It's unlikely she'll ever return to Doctor Who properly, though.
04:39Number 6.
04:40Matthew Waterhouse
04:41The part of precocious boy genius Adric was something of a poisoned chalice,
04:46requiring a certain degree of teenage arrogance.
04:49But actor Matthew Waterhouse didn't help himself.
04:51Often behaving in a questionable manner on set,
04:54famously he dared to offer acting advice to his more experienced co-stars.
04:58Still, Adric's death is repeatedly ranked as one of the show's most harrowing and emotional moments.
05:02Characters needn't stay dead in Doctor Who, however,
05:05and Waterhouse briefly returned for the very next story to play an Adric apparition.
05:10But might he return again in the future?
05:12Well, it's not looking good.
05:14According to an anecdote shared by Waterhouse on Twitter,
05:17he wasn't invited back for the 2023 anthology series Tales of the TARDIS,
05:22and he only found out about the project by accident
05:24after bumping into Fraser Hines and Wendy Padbury in Cardiff.
05:27He lamented, sadly, they've been unable to record any fourth Doctor introductions,
05:32Adric being dead, Tom rarely venturing forth,
05:35Lala abroad, and Louise far too busy.
05:37While he may not ever appear again physically,
05:39Adric was name-dropped in both the power of the Doctor and the giggle.
05:44So, you know, swings and roundabouts, I guess?
05:46Number 5.
05:47Maisie Williams
05:48When Maisie Williams' Doctor Who casting was announced,
05:51rumours were rife that she was playing a new companion,
05:54and it's not hard to see why.
05:56Not only was she well-established thanks to Game of Thrones,
05:59but the photos accompanying the press release added fuel to the fire,
06:02showing her in the TARDIS, in contemporary dress,
06:05looking very much at home.
06:06As we now know, Williams ended up playing a very different sort of character.
06:10But even so, when Clara departed at the end of Series 9,
06:13it was speculated that a shielder might replace her.
06:16In 2016, Williams put the rumours firmly to bed,
06:19insisting that, quote,
06:21I'm not going to be working on Doctor Who again.
06:23Everyone's hyping about it, which is very exciting,
06:25but no, I'm not going to return.
06:27I have a lot of other really exciting projects lined up instead.
06:30Much more recently, however,
06:32Williams said that she would return to Doctor Who,
06:34and that she, quote,
06:35would love to work with Shuti Gatwa.
06:37Mick signals much?
06:39However, given that her original denial was pretty definitive,
06:42and the whole Clara slash me ending was very divisive,
06:45it's difficult to imagine this character ever being revisited.
06:48Number 4.
06:49Annika Wills
06:50The companion support group brought together a host of companions who were still living on Earth,
06:54but some were conspicuously absent.
06:56Despite being mentioned in the script, there was no Martha Jones,
07:00and similarly, Tosun Cole's busy schedule meant that Ryan couldn't appear.
07:04And where the hell was Brian Williams?
07:05Looking further back, all the heavy hitters from the 80s were there,
07:09along with Ian Chesterton and Joe Grant.
07:11Sadly, though, many of the 60s and 70s alumni are no longer with us,
07:16hence why they weren't joined by Victoria, Liz, or Sarah Jane.
07:19All things considered, there was one slightly puzzling omission, though.
07:23Annika Wills as Polly.
07:25Like Ian, Polly returned to Earth following her travels in the TARDIS.
07:28And like Ian's actor, William Russell,
07:30Annika Wills is still with us.
07:32So why was she not there alongside him?
07:34Well, as reported by Radio Times,
07:36Wills was invited to appear in the scene,
07:38but felt it was more important to tend to her garden.
07:41Apparently, she said,
07:42I heard it was quite brief, so I'm glad I stayed and did my brambles instead.
07:45Huh, what a legend!
07:47Somehow I like her even more now.
07:48But she doesn't sound too keen, does she?
07:50And with Wills not getting any younger,
07:52we can pretty much rule out a return for Polly on TV, I think.
07:56Number 3. Christopher Eccleston
07:57Most previous Doctors are only too happy to come back.
08:01Jodie Whittaker is already gunning for a return,
08:03and she's only just left.
08:04But for the 9th Doctor, it's a little bit more complicated.
08:07Christopher Eccleston arguably had a harder time on the show than any other Doctor.
08:11He fell out with the producers almost immediately over perceived failures
08:15that still remain shrouded in mystery,
08:17and as a result, he decided to leave after just one year.
08:20If that wasn't bad enough, he was battling with anorexia at the time,
08:23and if that wasn't bad enough,
08:25he was blacklisted by the BBC and vilified by the press following his departure.
08:29Guy can't catch a break!
08:30Eccleston has since made peace with the show and its fans,
08:33embracing the world of conventions and reprising the 9th Doctor on audio.
08:37However, he's maintained that he'll only return on TV when,
08:40quote,
08:41hell freezes over.
08:42Hmm, not looking good, is it?
08:44In a more recent interview, he was clearer than ever about what it would take for him to come back,
08:48saying,
08:49Sack Russell T. Davis,
08:50Sack Jane Tranter,
08:51Sack Phil Collinson,
08:52Sack Julie Gardner,
08:53and I'll come back.
08:54Ooh, not sure if they're gonna do that, I'm afraid.
08:57Of course, if the BBC did ever manage to make up with Eccleston,
09:00his return would be an amazing moment.
09:02But if you think that's ever gonna happen,
09:04you're probably going to be waiting a very long time.
09:07Number two,
09:08Lala Ward.
09:09Romana was a very different type of companion,
09:11more the Doctor's equal than his assistant,
09:13and over the years,
09:14fans have repeatedly called for her to return.
09:17However,
09:17if we do ever see Romana again,
09:19she almost certainly won't be played by either of the actors that originally portrayed her,
09:24one of whom is sadly no longer with us,
09:26and one of whom no longer lives in the UK.
09:27That's because Lala Ward moved to Hong Kong in 2018,
09:31which would make any kind of TV return completely impractical.
09:34Add to that the fact that there's still tension between her and Tom Baker
09:37as a result of a whirlwind romance during their time on the show,
09:41and acrimonious separation shortly afterwards, I might add,
09:44and it becomes clear why we never got a fourth Doctor Romana Tales of the TARDIS.
09:48Mark Strixon is in a similar situation,
09:50not because he married and divorced Tom Baker,
09:52but because he now lives in New Zealand.
09:54So don't expect to see Turlo again either.
09:56Number 1. Peter Capaldi
09:58Christopher Eccleston isn't the only new series Doctor who refuses to return.
10:02Now, Peter Capaldi doesn't have any bad feeling about his time as the Twelfth Doctor,
10:06that we know of at least.
10:07He was a massive Doctor Who fan before he landed the part,
10:10and remains one to this day,
10:11recently described in the 60th anniversary specials as, quote,
10:14wonderful.
10:15However, he's also been very clear that he won't be appearing in the show again.
10:19Instead, he's focusing on new projects,
10:21such as critically acclaimed series The Devil's Hour and Criminal Record.
10:25He recently affirmed,
10:26I love Doctor Who.
10:27I love it in all of its forms,
10:29but I've sort of done my time on it.
10:31And I like the idea that you leave that as it is,
10:33instead of constantly digging up more of it.
10:35But if you want the even better answer,
10:37here is a response that he gave when asked about your return,
10:40bluntly saying,
10:41No.
10:41Frustrating as the prospect of no more Twelfth Doctor might be,
10:44you can see where Capaldi is coming from.
10:46Even if it is highly distressing,
10:47that we'll never see the sonic shades ever again.
10:49You know what?
10:50I can live with that.
10:52And there you have it.
10:53But while we're on the topic of Doctor Who actors,
10:55why not check out our video about Series 1 and where the cast are now?
10:59In the meantime,
10:59I've been Ellie for Who Culture,
11:01and in the words of Riversong herself,
11:02goodbye, sweeties.
11:04Who is the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who's the person who
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