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
00:29Despite 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,
01:06I 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 a 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.
01:31Number 9, Billie Piper.
01:33Unlike her Series 1 co-lead, Christopher Eccleston,
01:37Billie 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, very particular terms.
02:08She said,
02:08Sorry, 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.
02:18Given 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 passed,
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, from 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, it 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, but 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, but it doesn't seem likely at the moment.
03:387. Sophia 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, but ended up returning.
03:48Quite often a guest actor is very in-demand to begin with, or 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, despite 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, feeling 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, because 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, but 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, but those were rare circumstances.
04:36It's unlikely she'll ever return to Doctor Who properly, though.
04:39Number 6. Matthew Waterhouse
04:41The part of precocious boy genius Adric was something of a poisoned chalice, requiring a certain degree of teenage arrogance.
04:49But actor Matthew Waterhouse didn't help himself, often behaving in a questionable manner on set.
04:54Famously, he dared to offer acting advice to his more experienced co-stars.
04:57Still, 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, and 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, he wasn't invited back for the 2023 anthology series Tales of the TARDIS,
05:22and he only found out about the project by accident after bumping into Fraser Hines and Wendy Padbury in Cardiff.
05:27He lamented, sadly, they've been unable to record any fourth Doctor introductions, Adric being dead, Tom rarely venturing forth,
05:35Lala abroad, and Louise far too busy.
05:37While he may not ever appear again physically, Adric 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. Maisie Williams
05:48When Maisie Williams' Doctor Who casting was announced, rumours were rife that she was playing a new companion, and it's not hard to see why.
05:56Not only was she well-established thanks to Game of Thrones, but the photos accompanying the press release added fuel to the fire,
06:02showing her in the TARDIS, in contemporary dress, looking 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, it was speculated that a shielder might replace her.
06:16In 2016, Williams put the rumours firmly to bed, insisting that, quote,
06:21I'm not going to be working on Doctor Who again.
06:23Everyone's hyping about it, which is very exciting, but 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, Williams said that she would return to Doctor Who, and that she, quote,
06:35would love to work with Shuti Gatwa.
06:37Mixed 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, Annika 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.
07:24Like Ian, Polly returned to Earth following her travels in the TARDIS.
07:28And like Ian's actor, William Russell, Annika Wills is still with us.
07:32So why was she not there alongside him?
07:34Well, as reported by Radio Times, Wills 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, we 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, and 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 that 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, he 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, embracing the world of conventions and reprising the 9th Doctor on audio.
08:37However, he's maintained that he'll only return on TV when, quote, hell 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, saying,
08:49Sack Russell T. Davis, sack Jane Tranter, sack Phil Collinson, sack Julie Gardner, and 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, his return would be an amazing moment.
09:02But if you think that's ever gonna happen, you're probably going to be waiting a very long time.
09:07Number 2, Lala Ward.
09:09Romana was a very different type of companion, more the Doctor's equal than his assistant.
09:13And over the years, fans have repeatedly called for her to return.
09:17However, if we do ever see Romana again, she 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, and one of whom no longer lives in the UK.
09:27That's because Lala Ward moved to Hong Kong in 2018, which 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 as 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, but because he now lives in New Zealand.
09:54So don't expect to see Turlo again either.
09:57Number 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, that we know of at least.
10:07He was a massive Doctor Who fan before he landed the part, and remains one to this day.
10:11Recently described in the 60th anniversary specials as, quote, wonderful.
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, such as critically acclaimed series The Devil's Hour and Criminal Record.
10:25He recently affirmed, I love Doctor Who. I love it in all of its forms, but I've sort of done my time on it.
10:31And I like the idea that you leave that as it is, instead of constantly digging up more of it.
10:35But if you want the even better answer, here is a response that he gave when asked about your return, bluntly saying, no.
10:41Frustrating as the prospect of no more Twelfth Doctor might be, you can see where Capaldi is coming from.
10:46Even if it is highly distressing that we'll never see the sonic shades ever again.
10:49You know what? I can live with that.
10:52And there you have it.
10:53But while we're on the topic of Doctor Who actors, why not check out our video about Series 1 and where the cast are now.
10:59In the meantime, I've been Ellie for Who Culture, and in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye, sweeties.