Doctor Who boss says Christopher Eccleston ‘single-handedly’ changed the show

Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies has explained how Christopher Eccleston “single-handedly” changed the show.

Ahead of the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas special, Davies appeared on Imagine… Russell T Davies: The Doctor and Me last night (December 18). The behind-the-scenes episode explored the new set at Bad Wolf Studios in Cardiff and followed the director as he films the new season.

In the one-off special, Davies explained how Eccleston changed viewers’ perceptions of the Time Lord. The actor became a fan favourite when the long-running sci-fi series was first rebooted in 2005.

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“I had to keep all the good iconography but dust off all the junk. Some of the junk was kind of pomposity around the character,” he said.

“He’s a Time Lord, so he’s become a Lord in people’s minds, someone who’s talkative, pompous, pretentious and posh. So Chris single-handedly shook that off in a single moment.”

Davies then described the casting of Eccleston’s companion Rose (played by Billie Piper), saying: “You forget, in 2005, 2004, people were laughing and saying, ‘Oh, you cast that pop star. What’s Billie Piper like?’ They thought she was awful.”

“I remember during production we all had these huge, silent smiles on our faces and we were like, ‘Wait. Wait until you see her. It’s phenomenal.'”

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Eccleston recently announced that he will not be returning to the Tardis any time soon.

During a panel appearance at the For the Love of Sci-Fi convention, the actor described “the politics” that went on behind the scenes (via Metro).

“The BBC said, ‘We’re going to stay out of this’ and then when it became a success they all came very close and said, ‘I was responsible for this’. But they all stayed at a distance, like, ‘This is folly, Eccleston’s folly, Piper’s folly, Russell T. Davies’s folly,'” he said.

Doctor Who continues with The Church on Ruby Road, broadcast on Christmas Day (December 25). The show will air on BBC One in the UK and Disney+ elsewhere.

Classic episodes of Doctor Who are now available in the UK via BBC iPlayer.

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