David Tennant and Catherine Tate will return to Doctor Who for the show’s 60th anniversary celebrations, the BBC has announced.
The duo have reunited after 12 years to film scenes that are due to air next year.
Tennant, 51, first stepped into the Tardis in 2005 to play the 10th Time Lord, with his final episode airing on New Year’s Day in 2010. Comedic actor Tate, 52, starred as his companion Donna Noble.
The Doctor and Donna parted ways when the Time Lord had to wipe her memory in order to save her life. He left her family with a warning that if she had a memory of the past, she would die, because the powers that she possessed threatened to overwhelm her brain.
Russell T Davies, Doctor Who’s returning showrunner, said: “They’re back! And it looks impossible – first, we announce a new Doctor, and then an old Doctor, along with the wonderful Donna. What on earth is happening?
“Maybe this is a missing story. Or a parallel world. Or a dream, or a trick, or a flashback. The only thing I can confirm is that it’s going to be spectacular, as two of our greatest stars reunite for the battle of a lifetime.”
Tennant took over the protagonist’s role in 2005 from Christopher Eccleston, and was succeeded by Matt Smith. The Scottish actor returned for an appearance in the 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor, in 2013.
Like his predecessors, Tennant has continued to play the role off-screen in a series of spin-off audio releases. In 2020 he was voted the fans’ favourite Doctor.
Tennant and Tate’s collaborations extend beyond Doctor Who. The pair worked on a stage version of Much Ado About Nothing together in 2011 and Tenant also made a cameo appearance on The Catherine Tate Show.
Doctor Who returns to BBC One later this year with a 90-minute special episode to celebrate the BBC’s centenary, which will be Jodie Whittaker’s last appearance as the 13th Doctor.
Sex Education actor Ncuti Gatwa, 29, will be taking over from Whittaker and becomes the fourth person of Scottish origin to take up the post following on from Sylvester McCoy, fellow Royal Conservatoire graduate Tennant and Peter Capaldi.
Showrunner Chris Chibnall, who cast Whittaker as the programme’s first female protagonist, is leaving to be replaced by Davies, who was behind the programme’s 2005 reboot and left in 2009.
