We never thought we’d see Chris Eccleston’s beloved Ninth Doctor in Doctor Who again…and I guess we technically haven’t. However, the actor has finally returned to the role that relaunched the beloved sci-fi franchise in the new millennia, so we’ve heard the Ninth Doctor through his new Big Finish audio adventures. But this might be just the beginning.
Let’s put the emphasis on “might” because Big Finish’s Nicholas Briggs has confirmed there are no current plans for the Ninth Doctor to finally meet David Tennant’s Tenth, hang out with Tom Baker’s Fourth, or so forth. However, Briggs absolutely knows it’s what Who fans (I still maintain they should be called Whooligans) want. And — much more importantly — he thinks Eccleston, who took so long to return to the role after his difficult time making his season of the TV series, would be down for it.
In an interview with Radio Times, Briggs said, “We do like Doctors to get together, don’t we? But it’s always very difficult to do it and we’ve done it quite a lot… I would never rule it out, but I don’t think it would be Chris’ number one priority — although I’m sure he’d be on board for something like that…but I think it would be wonderful and fingers crossed maybe one day we could do it!”
Normally we don’t post these kinds of “hypothetical news” stories, because the news doesn’t technically exist. However, learning Eccleston is open to doing more Doctor Who work alongside other actors who have played the role is a big deal, because fans have longed to see the Ninth interact with the broader Who-niverse since they learned the actor turned down the opportunity to reprise the role in “The Day of the Doctor.”
More importantly, if anyone can make this happen, it’s Big Finish. It’s the company that pulled off the miracle of getting Eccleston to return to Doctor Who in the first place, and it’s made audio adventures with pretty much every Who actor still living, mixing and matching Doctors willy-nilly for some fantastic combinations. If Eccleston is open to it, then it should be no problem to get the Ninth to chat with the Tenth, the Fourth, the Who-ever.
Still, there are no plans. Still, it’s quite possible plans are being or soon will be made! That, as the Ninth Doctor himself would say, is fantastic.
[referenced id=”1684807″ url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2021/04/doctor-whos-christopher-eccleston-on-why-now-is-the-time-for-his-return/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/02/gwfpigbgzjjovknshs9i-300×186.png” title=”Doctor Who’s Christopher Eccleston on Why Now Is the Time for His Return” excerpt=”Christopher Eccleston transformed Doctor Who forever. Sixteen years ago, the actor — headlining a bold reboot of the beloved British sci-fi classic that had been off screens for nearly a decade — presented a tortured, compassionate take on a Time Traveller without a home. Then, as quickly as we met…”]