Doctor Who's Russell T Davies heaps praise on "genius" Christopher Eccleston

After his departure, there were reports of bad blood between Eccleston and the BBC, and indeed the star later explained how his relationship with his immediate superiors – including showrunner Russell T Davies – "broke down irreparably during the first block of filming".

But despite that, Davies – who returned for a second stint as showrunner in 2023 – heaped praise on Eccleston during a recent interview with Doctor Who Magazine to mark the 20th anniversary.

"I mean, the man is a master," he said. "You get to work with a genius – someone who's still at the top of his game all these years later. That's what we were lucky to get."

Producer Julie Gardner added that prior to his casting, tabloids had been running stories suggesting that magician Paul Daniels might be the new Doctor, but that Eccleston helped change the public's perception of the show.

And Davies also told a story which highlighted just how serious Eccleston was about taking on the role.

"I remember walking on set one morning and Chris had discovered in some book or online that the Doctor was allergic to aspirin," he explained. "Which is something William Hartnell's Doctor had said.

"So we had this great morning of working out whether we could get aspirin into a plot. I did have to tell Chris, 'Things that were said in the '60s aren't necessarily lore – you don't have to absolutely follow them'. But that tells you a lot about how he threw himself into it."

He concluded: "I hope he knows how well remembered he is, as a magnificent Doctor who broke the mould."

Although Eccleston has frequently stated that he's unlikely to return to the TV show in the future – saying in 2023 that the show would need to "sack Russell T Davies, sack Jane Tranter, sack Phil Collinson, sack Julie Gardner" in order for him to come back – he has reprised his role for several Big Finish audio dramas since 2021.

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Doctor Who season 15 will be released on 12th April 2025, coming to BBC iPlayer at 8am and later that day on BBC One.

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