There have been six actors who have played the Doctor since Doctor Who was revived for the modern era in 2005 (a few more if you include the brief stints by John Hurt, Jo Martin, and others), but Christopher Eccleston's run stands out as particularly significant because of its brevity. While David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, Jodie Whittaker and Ncuti Gatwa stuck with the role for multiple years, he is an outlier because of his short 13-episode run. Eccleston hasn't appeared on the show since, so what would it take to bring him back?
The actor addressed that very question this weekend at C2E2 2026 (via Popverse), and what he proposes is not only not extreme, but would be great to see. As you would expect, he has put some serious consideration into the matter in the last 21 years, and he says that what would bring him back would be a particular change in the personnel who are making the creative decision. Said Eccleston,
