Something that Doctor Who fans thought they’d never see is actually happening. Christopher Eccleston, who’s stood apart from the sci-fi franchise since he left after just one season back in 2005, is returning as the Ninth Doctor for a new series of official audio dramas. The news was revealed earlier this year and this week, Eccleston confirmed that he’s started recording the audio series by sharing a sneak peek at the script for the first episode on social media.
Obviously, this has got Whovians wondering if the next move for the Thor: The Dark World actor is for him to dust off his battered leather jacket and return to Doctor Who on TV, too. And that’s exactly the question that was posed to him while taking part in an interview on British morning talk show Lorraine.
The actor explained the following to host Lorraine Kelly via video call:
“I’m on my way to do the second day of recording of the audio adventures of the Ninth Doctor for a company called Big Finish, and it’s written by an excellent writer called Nicholas Briggs – who’s also the voice of the Daleks,” he said.
This then led Kelly to ask if he could ever “pop up” again on the TV series. Eccleston grinned and replied: “I know what you’re getting at, Lorraine, but… only when hell freezes over!” The interview was then forced to end soon after that due to the actor apparently experiencing some technical issues, so we didn’t get to hear more on this topic.
That’s not exactly an encouraging reply from Eccleston, though he did appear to at least partially be joking. That said, the actor has previously opened up about the clashes he had with BBC management that caused him to leave after a single season and his reluctance to return to the part of the Doctor without the right creative direction, which is why he declined the offer to come back for the 50th anniversary in 2013, so he might not have been entirely kidding.
Still, his upcoming Big Finish audios suggest that he’s definitely thawing on the idea. And if you’re interested, you can pre-order his big Doctor Who comeback, The Ninth Doctor Adventures: Volume 1, from the Big Finish website here before it releases in May.