The special episodes for the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who marked the return of David Tennant. A temporary return: the actor no longer wishes to return, the story of the 14th Doctor having ended.
It was the event of the end of the year 2023 in terms of the series: Doctor Who celebrated its 60th anniversary. For the occasion, David Tennant returned to don the costume of the Doctor – but a 14th Doctor – before handing over to Ncuti Gatwa.
The return of David Tennant only lasted three episodes, before ending with a happy ending : after the bi-regeneration, the 14th Doctor decided to stay on Earth, to settle down, within Donna’s family. In fact, while Ncuti Gatwa’s 15th Doctor travels through space and time confronting a major new enemy, his previous version is resting to heal from millions of years of ordeal.
“This really is the end of the story,” says David Tennant
After these event episodes, and while this version of the Doctor is alive, many fans wondered if a return of David Tennant was possible again. Could the 14th Doctor, for example, collaborate with the 15th? The actor, interviewed by Radio Times magazine in February 2024, gave a very clear answer: no.
“ The Doctor is happy. He’s in a garden in Chiswick, getting macaroni and cheese made by Bonnie Langford! “, he told the magazine. Before emphasizing that his return was initially only justified by the eventful nature of the 60 years. “ The door is no more open than it once was, because in Doctor Who, if you want to bring someone back, there are endless ways to do it. ” To conclude : ” That’s really the end of the story. »
The magazine, however, tried to tickle David Tennant with a hypothesis: what if Earth was invaded while the 15th Doctor was busy elsewhere in time and space? “ We could also say: ‘Why Patrick Troughton [deuxième Docteur] didn’t he end up here? (…). I am retired ! The Fourteenth Doctor is retired! “, he counter-attacked.
So, even if he reiterated that this return to Doctor Who was a “ real pleasure », David Tennant has been quite clear: he will not return to the screen in the role of the 14th Doctor. We are therefore unlikely to see, in one of the next seasons, a collaboration between David Tennant’s Doctor and Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor. So much the better, in a sense: Doctor Who learns to turn the page with each new incarnation.
The next adventures of the 15th Doctor, in any case, can be expected in spring 2024, on the Disney+ platform in France. The series restarts in season 1 for the occasion.
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