David Tennant added a line during Doctor Who regeneration
Returning showrunner Russell T Davies has revealed that Tennant added the reference to his very first regeneration scene into the last Doctor Who special.
Doctor Who's incoming showrunner Russell T Davies has revealed that he wasn't solely responsible for writing David Tennant's regeneration scene in Power of the Doctor, with the actor adding a line of dialogue himself.
The BAFTA winner, who is best known for playing the Tenth Doctor from 2005 until 2010, surprised fans in the last Doctor Who special by becoming the successor to Jodie Whittaker's Time Lord.
However, Russell T Davies, who has returned to the role of showrunner for Doctor Who's 60th anniversary specials, told Doctor Who Magazine that Tennant's appearance wasn't the only surprise, with the actor improvising a callback to his very first scene on the show.
"It wasn't exactly the longest day at the keyboard," Davies said about writing the regeneration scene.
"They're obvious first lines. But David added the bit about teeth. That’s his line. So it’s written by the two of us."
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He added: "That's rather nice, isn't it? I like that. I was really chuffed."
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The scene, which aired at the end of the last Doctor Who special, saw Jodie Whittaker transform into David Tennant's Doctor – who materialised along with his classic outfit – who then exclaimed: "I know these teeth. What? What?! WHAT?!"
This was a reference to Tennant's very first regeneration scene, in which his first words were: "New teeth...that's weird."
Tennant will be reprising his role as the Doctor for the show's 60th anniversary specials, which each have a runtime of 60 minutes.
As for Ncuti Gatwa's tenure in the role, we don't know exactly when he'll be taking over as the titular Time Lord, however script editor Scott Handcock recently revealed that secret auditions for his companion took place in September.
Doctor Who Magazine issue 584 is out now.
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