Could David Tennant return to Doctor Who at Christmas? All the clues and theories

It may still be a while away, but theories are already swirling about this year's Doctor Who Christmas special – including whether Tenth and Fourteenth Doctor star David Tennant could be back for more.

Showrunner Russell T Davies is set to pen the festive special, which comes after the twist that saw Ncuti Gatwa's departing Doctor regenerate into none other than Billie Piper, who previously played companion Rose Tyler.

But haven't Tennant and Davies both said the Fourteenth Doctor is retired and won't be back? Well, there are a few things making fans think otherwise.

Of course, no details have been announced about the special and this is all speculation.

Will David Tennant return to Doctor Who at Christmas? All the clues and theories

The Doomsday tease

A recent blogpost from UNIT on the Doctor Who website had fans wondering if the Christmas special might actually be a sequel to beloved episode Doomsday.

The post reminded logged-in users of the "Rose Tyler (2006 Cold case)".

It added: "As Rose Tyler is currently both missing from this universe and flagged as a complex space-time event, maybe keep an eye out. I've got the Vlinx scanning all media channels and the subwave network."

It begs the question as to why Doomsday is being referenced now - unless there's a reason for it that hasn't been revealed yet.

The Doctor Who socials have been celebrating David Tennant big time

It hasn't passed fans by that the Doctor Who social media accounts have been sharing plenty of DT content including, most recently, a throwback to the trailer for his first season, complete with the old logo. Plus, BBC Three recently shared the love too with their own Tennant at Twenty night.

There could be many reasons for this, of course. There's never a bad time to celebrate DT! It's also been 20 years this year since his first full season as the Doctor - so this could certainly explain it.

But could it also be teeing us up for a return? Very possibly.

The Fourteenth Doctor is still around

The final 60th anniversary special, The Giggle, made it clear that the Fourteenth Doctor hasn't gone anywhere, and is still around on Earth, hanging out with Bonnie Langford's Mel Bush.

So, in terms of what's possible within the world of Doctor Who, it would certainly make sense for the Fourteenth Doctor to meet the Sixteenth Doctor (if that's what Piper is going to be!). It would also be a huge treat for fans who loved Tennant and Piper's pairing the first time round – and the pair are still clearly good friends.

What puts a slight spanner in the works is that Tennant has strongly implied that the Fourteenth Doctor is "retired" and that he has no plans to return to the show anytime soon. But if he's done it once before...

Tennant is a huge Doctor Who fan

Anyone who knows Tennant's love for Doctor Who surely wouldn't be surprised to see him return again.

The actor, who recently raced to watch the recently recovered episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan, has made no secret of his life-long love for the show.

Could that influence him to return again? Stranger things have happened!

Doctor Who will return this Christmas on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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