Rumour: Eccleston, Tennant, Smith & Capaldi back for 60th Anniversary

DOCTOR Who fans have been whipped into a frenzy over who will replace Jodie Whittaker when she hands over the keys to the Tardis later this year.

But I can reveal her replacement will hardly appear in the show when it returns in 2023.

Instead, it is set to play host to a string of former time lords in a series of specials marking the series’ 60th birthday.

As the rumour mill has already suggested, that’s likely to see Jodie pass the baton to David Tennant, but it could also see a comeback by Matt Smith, Christopher Eccleston and Peter Capaldi.

It’s a dream scenario for megafan and showrunner Russell T Davies, who clearly wants a repeat of 1983’s feature-length 20th anniversary special, The Five Doctors – which starred a quintet of ex-time lords.

A TV insider said: “The BBC wanted something unique to mark six decades of Doctor Who and while getting all the former time lords together will be a challenge, it’s one Russell might just achieve.

“After all, he was the man responsible for signing up Christopher and David back in 2005, and he is one of the few people who might convince them to be a part of the show again.

“It remains to be seen if he can achieve an exact copy of The Five Doctors, but he will certainly want to capture some of the spirit of that landmark episode in these specials.”

A pipe dream? Out of all the modern-era Doctors, David Tennant and Matt Smith are the most likely to come back. Both have expressed interest in the past, having really enjoyed their time together on the 50th.

Eccleston however, despite his Big Finish comeback, said in 2020 he would return to the TV show “only when hell freezes over” and in 2018 he vowed he will “never will have” a working relationship with Russell T Davies again.

As for Peter Capaldi, it doesn’t look good either. Only last year he said “I wouldn’t really fancy that” when quizzed about appearing in a multi-Doctor story.