Strictly viewers thrilled as David Tennant makes surprise appearance

The Strictly episode got underway with the first dance of the night by Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin, which garnered a mixed response from the judges. But after their routine, it was of course time for the Strictly terms and conditions to be read out.

As usual, the segment is read out by a surprise guest each week and befitting the return of Tennant as Doctor, it was only right that the man himself made an appearance.

Tennant's pre-recorded segment came from in front of the TARDIS as he read out the terms and conditions and while only a small appearance, was enough to send fans into excited overdrive, especially as he cheers-ed the screen with a TARDIS mug in hand.

Taking to Twitter (which has recently rebranded as X) to talk about Tennant's appearance, one fan wrote: "David Tennant doing the Strictly voting terms and conditions? This is HIS NIGHT."

Another posted a gif of an excited Oprah, writing alongside it: "david tennant on strictly?!?"

Similarly, another fan aptly used capital letters to express their surprise, writing: "DAVID TENNANT DOING THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS ON STRICTLY OMG."

It wasn't long before Tennant's appearance on Strictly Come Dancing started lighting up further crossover ideas in some fan's minds. One fan said: "So, when is David Tennant going to do #Strictly #ThingsWeAllNeed" while another outlined what many were thinking: "I really want David Tennant on Strictly, even if it’s a one off. Think he’d be terrific #Strictly"

But with back-to-back Doctor Who, one fan summed it up fittingly, writing: "This evening is sponsored by David Tennant."

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The first of three 60th anniversary episodes signals the return of Tennant and Tate, but also Donna's mother Sylvia Noble, played by Jacqueline King.

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about her return to the sci-fi series with Tate and Tennant, King said: "They are such lovely, genuinely lovely people, superb actors who I stand in the wake of and our parts had been written so clearly by Russell T Davies and he knows us so well and so brilliantly that we all just felt that we were putting on the old pair of shoes again and off we went."

King added: "It's very much taking us into the future and taking us in an exciting route through different media and then, of course, we will launch into the next Doctor Who and it will progress from there. So I'm just hoping that people won't think it's too much going backwards and that it's helping the forward propulsion of the series."

Doctor Who's first 60th anniversary special The Star Beast is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now. Classic episodes are available on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here.

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