Doctor Who's new episodes will have a Christopher Eccleston era connection

After distancing himself from the role for a time, Eccleston has recently grown closer to the Doctor Who fandom and even reprised the role of The Doctor in audio format for Big Finish.

Now, one of his television stories is looking to come back into relevance, according to a comment made by showrunner Russell T Davies in the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine (on sale now).

He teased: "A weapon from the Ninth Doctor’s era in 2005 is about to make a terrifying return. I knew nothing about it until the writer handed in their magnificent script, and... pow! What a comeback!"

There are any number of things that comment could refer to, from the deadly mannequins of the revival pilot Rose to the various death traps aboard Satellite Five in the season finale.

Doctor Who season 14, the first to feature Ncuti Gatwa in the lead role, was notably light on references to earlier seasons, prioritising a wave of new villains over bringing back the most famous foes.

It's as-yet-unclear whether the return of this Ninth-era weapon could herald other more familiar threats in the next season, but we can be fairly certain that it won't be a precursor to Eccleston's live-action return to the series – with the actor previously calling any potential comeback "very doubtful".

The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine is out now.

Doctor Who returns at 5:10pm on Christmas Day on BBC One and iPlayer.

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