Tennant on Returning as 14th Doctor, His Costume, Donna & Ncuti Gatwa
David Tennant has spoken about returning to Doctor Who as the 14th Doctor.
Speaking to BBC News, Tennant said: “What a lovely, lovely thing to get to revisit something that was such a wonderful, happy, significant time in my life.”
“You move on from it with a whole mixture of emotions. And one of those is sadness and regret. So to be able to revisit that and to get another shot, it was a total joy from start to finish.”
He added: “Doctor Who runs through my life, as if through a stick of rock really. It’s a show that I loved as a small child, I grew up obsessed with it. I went to get [fourth Doctor] Tom Baker’s autograph in Glasgow, John Menzies.
“I thought it was something that I would certainly never be as involved in again… it’s like being given the loveliest present. And I’m very, very excited. I’m thrilled and I hope people will enjoy the stories we’ve got to tell.”
Asked if he felt there were any risks coming back, he replied: “It didn’t really feel like a risk. It felt in a way that the pressure was off. But also I knew that Russell T Davies was in charge. And I love working with him and I love receiving a script with his name on the front. So that just felt like it was a bit of a no-brainer.”
On Catherine Tate returning as Donna Noble, he said: “Of course, there’s a big mystery there. Because she’s, as eagle-eyed viewers will know, when we last left Donna Noble, she could not remember the Doctor’s existence, or her brain would melt. So there’s a bit of an issue there.”
On his costume, he said: “To a sort of casual viewer, I look like I’m sort of dressed in the same way as I used to be. But actually we’ve gone for something that’s sort of the same but different. That has echoes of the past but it’s also a bit something of the now as well.”
Speaking about Ncuti Gatwa as his successor: “[He’s] I mean, scarily good, brilliant. I think the world has got a very exciting new Doctor to look forward to. Once you’ve enjoyed this one for a little while longer.”
