David Tennant opens up about one ‘worry’ he had regarding his Doctor Who return

Actor will be the focus of three new episodes in 2023

David Tennant has opened up about the chief concern he about agreeing to return to Doctor Who.

The actor returned as the 14th incarnation of the Time Lord in the latest episode of the BBC series, which aired on Sunday (23 October). Tennant previously played the 10th version of the character,

It marks his first appearance in the series since the 50th anniversary special, “The Day Of The Doctor”, in 2013.

On Monday (24 October), the morning after his return to the show, Tennant was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today show, where he admitted to being “worried before I got there that it might be difficult to get in the groove again”.

However, he said the process was “weirdly, weirdly straightforward”, adding: “We’ve managed to keep the essence of where the story goes.”

Tennant stated: “There's bit of a precedent in this show that all Doctors maybe turn up for a special now and again, but usually in cohort with the current team, so to get another run round the park was a little joy I never saw coming.

“What a lovely, lovely thing to get to revisit something that was such a wonderful, happy, significant time in my life. Doctor Who runs through my life as if through a stick of rock... It’s a show that I loved as a small child – I grew up up obsessed with it – and then to be part of the show, to go on that journey and to come back to it now when I thought it was a memory, it’s like being given the loveliest present. It’s been an absolute joy.”

Tennant will return as the Doctor for three episodes in November 2023 alongside former companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate).

A brief teaser for the specials, which have been written by returning showrunner Russell T Davies, was released on Sunday, which hinted at the debut of Ncuti Gatwa, who will overtake Tennant as the 15th incarnation of the character. Speaking of Gatwa’s role, Tennant said: “The world has a very exciting Doctor to look forward to.”

‘What?!’ David Tennant’s return to ‘Doctor Who’ (Bad Wolf)

Davies said in a statement released by the BBC: “If you thought the appearance of David Tennant was a shock, we’ve got plenty more surprises on the way. The path to Ncuti’s 15th Doctor is laden with mystery, horror, robots, puppets, danger and fun.

“And how is it connected to the return of the wonderful Donna Noble? How, what, why? We’re giving you a year to speculate, and then all hell lets loose.”

Find The Independent’s review of the latest episode, which marked Jodie Whittaker’s final appearance, here.