Christopher Eccleston: “I’m Always There in Spirit”

Philip Bates is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Hands up – who misses the Ninth Doctor? Yep, I think many of us do, whether introduced to the show via the 2005 series, or a fan since Classic Who.

Christopher Eccleston is on many-a-wishlist for coming back, but the actor says what’s important isn’t that he solely did the one series as the Doctor:

“I don’t think it’s important that I left. I think it’s important that I did it in the first place. I’m still there: I was in David Tennant, I was in Matt Smith, I was in Peter Capaldi. I’m always there in spirit.”

What’s so nice about this quote is that Eccleston reaffirms the fact that he really does get Doctor Who. Capaldi, when he took on the role of the Twelfth Doctor, said that his incarnation is infused with the previous regenerations, and Eccleston seems to echo this sentiment.

Looking back on his time with the show, he says he might do one thing in particular differently:

“I think I over-pitched the comedy. If I had my time again, I would do the comedy very different – but I think where I did possibly succeed was in the tortured stuff – surprise surprise!”

I don’t know – I think the humour was spot-on.

As ever, Christopher wouldn’t be pressed on why he left Doctor Who, instead saying:

“Myself and three individuals at the very top of the pyramid clashed so off I went… They’re not here to say their side of it so I’m not going into detail.”

Which is a very respectable response.

Maybe we’ll never truly know. But as the Ninth Doctor says, that’s not really the point. The point is, he did it. He introduced millions to the show. He’s the Doctor.

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