David Tennant says Doctor Who return “always a possibility”

Doctor Who star David Tennant won’t rule appearing in the series again after his latest comeback in the upcoming 60th anniversary specials.

Tennant headlined Doctor Who from 2005 to 2010, making his first regular appearance as the Tenth Doctor in the 2005 Christmas special. He wrapped up his run as the sci-fi show’s leading man in another Christmas special, “The End of Time,” which ended with the Tenth Doctor regenerating into Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor.

Since then, Tennant has made two further Doctor Who appearances. The first of these was in the BBC series’ 50th anniversary special, “The Day of the Doctor,” which saw him reprise the Tenth Doctor role. The second was a surprise cameo at the end of 2022 special “The Power of the Doctor,” in which he portrayed outgoing star Jodie Whittaker’s replacement, the Fourteenth Doctor.

Tennant will continue to play the Fourteenth Doctor in the three Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials set to air in late November and early December. After this, he’s slated to bring his second tenure in the TARDIS to a close by passing the torch to Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor in time for Series 14 / Season 1.

David Tennant: Doctor Who return “always a possibility”

That doesn’t necessarily mean fans have seen the last of the Scottish actor, though. Tennant recently indicated that another Doctor Who return could still be on the cards in an interview with SFX, although he stopped short of promising that he’ll definitely be back.

“I think it would be disingenuous to imagine that I might never be asked [to star in Doctor Who] again because history would indicate that it was always a possibility,” Tennant said. “So, I’m not going to say never because I don’t think anyone would believe me. That doesn’t mean I know that I ever will. But I suppose until I can’t run down a corridor it’s always a possibility. But I promise to have no plans.”

Tennant then went on to compare his hypothetical Doctor Who return to Patrick Stewart revisiting Star Trek Picard’s titular role at 82, quipping that he should set a similar target. “Maybe that should be my goal, to have one last outing as the Doctor at 82. I’ve got 30 years to wait,” he joked.

Tennant praises Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor Who performance

That said, Tennant was decidedly less glib when the conversation turned to Gatwa, expressing earnest admiration for his successor. Tennant praised showrunner Russell T Davies’ decision to hire Gatwa for the Fifteenth Doctor part as “good casting” and talked up the Sex Education star’s imminent arrival.

“I have managed to admire, from afar, a little bit of Ncuti… It’s very exciting to think about what’s gonna happen to the show when he takes over,” Tennant teased.

Check out our guide to the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials to find out more about David Tennant’s return to the series.