Doctor Who's Christopher Eccleston said Billie Piper should be the Doctor years ago
Is Eccleston a soothsayer, or has Russell T Davies been listening to his former star?
There were so many moments from Doctor Who's season 15 finale which blew fans' minds, from the return of Anita and Jodie Whittaker's Doctor to the surprise regeneration of Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor.
However, surely the biggest surprise came in the episode's final moments, when the regeneration energy started to fade and out emerged Billie Piper, saying the words, "Oh, hello," direct to camera.
Piper, of course, previously played Rose Tyler, the Ninth and Tenth Doctor's companion, starting back in 2005. She left the role in 2006, but returned to the show in both 2008 and 2013, with the latter being for the show's 50th anniversary.
While the episode's credits notably didn't say Piper was playing the Doctor, that would certainly seem to be the case - and it turns out Piper's former co-star, Ninth Doctor actor Christopher Eccleston, pitched this idea years ago.
Speaking in 2022 while at convention Fan Expo, before Gatwa had been cast, Eccleston responded to the news that Russell T Davies was coming back as showrunner, having previously overseen his era and that of David Tennant.
Eccleston said: "I was saying to somebody today in the green room that Russell T Davies is coming back, right, and who’s going to be his Doctor? I think it should be Billie Piper, actually. Catherine Tate’s great but, I think there’s your Doctor.
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"And I'd like to see you all struggle with it. 'How can she be the Doctor when she was an assistant?!' I like the idea of it blowing fuses in the canon, or whatever it's called. 'No, this cannot! Dissonance, dissonance!'"
It seems that either Davies was listening, or Eccleston has predicted the future, as there are certainly a lot of questions right now about how Piper's return can have taken place.
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Of course, Tennant himself previously returned as the character in 2023, and at that point it was explained the Doctor was sending himself a message, to go back to Donna and live a normal, retired life.
After The Reality War aired, and Piper's return was revealed, a statement from the actor said: "It’s no secret how much I love this show, and I have always said I would love to return to the Whoniverse as I have some of my best memories there, so to be given the opportunity to step back on that TARDIS one more time was just something I couldn’t refuse, but who, how, why and when, you’ll just have to wait and see."
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
