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One of the first big adventures of the millennial era began with Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor Who. The sci-fi series was a formative part of the entertainment industry’s growth and evolution through the ’90s and as for the audience, Doctor Who remains an ingrained part of pop culture’s collective memory.
Doctor Who feat. Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper [Credit: BBC]Meanwhile, Christopher Eccleston made the role his own by imbuing the Ninth Doctor with a trait that was individually characteristic of his personality. However, as a veteran actor, his foray into light comedy with a hint of political commentary came at a cost. At the time, Eccleston was not yet cracked up for the role of the Time Lord and keeper of the TARDIS. And he knew it too.
Doctor Who didn’t help Christopher Eccleston’s career
Christopher Eccleston in Doctor Who Season 1 (2005) [Credit: BBC]It is not every day that one gets to witness the evolution of a saga that remains so deeply entrenched in our pop culture memory from its infancy to becoming an ultimate and unprecedented classic. Doctor Who is nothing if not an all-time classic in the world of science fiction and fantasy genres. The elements of educational, historical, and socio-political commentary are just bonus aspects.
However, for Christopher Eccleston, the role was a game-changer in more ways than one. Not only did Doctor Who catapult the Salford-born actor to global fame almost overnight but also transformed his starry-eyed view of the gilded entertainment industry.
Doctor Who set Eccleston on a long and weary path that went directly against his superiors at BBC, thus ruining his working relationship with the network and his showrunners permanently. As a result, Eccleston suffered an irreparable blow to his career despite gaining an advantage with Doctor Who. 13 years later, he revealed the real reason behind his falling out with the BBC execs behind the scenes.
Christopher Eccleston’s bombshell revelation
Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor in Doctor Who [Credit: BBC]It would take over a decade for Christopher Eccleston to come clean about the dirty behind-the-scenes politics that contributed to foiling his relationship with the Doctor Who showrunner, producer, and co-producer. The messy falling out between the cast and showrunner ruined his relationship with Russell T Davies insomuch that he swore never to work with the screenwriter again.
However, it wasn’t just the studio politics that contributed to Eccleston clashing with his superiors at work. Rather, aspects of his own creative achievements played into the mix as he felt he could not do justice to the role.
In a 2018 interview with Radio Times, Eccleston revealed:
My relationship with my three immediate superiors – the showrunner, the producer and co-producer – broke down irreparably during the first block of filming and it never recovered. They lost trust in me, and I lost faith and trust and belief in them. Some of my anger about the situation came from my own insecurity. They employed somebody who was not a natural light comedian.
A year later, at the 2019 New York Comic Con, Eccleston further divulged information about his messy relationship with the Doctor Who producer and showrunner. After turning down a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reprise his role as the Ninth Doctor at the show’s 50th anniversary special, he claimed there were political reasons that factored into his decision.
Moreover, he also “didn’t feel like the narrative was strong enough” to justify his return as the Ninth Doctor – a decision that was further incentivized by the “abuse” he suffered behind the scenes and after leaving the show.
Doctor Who is available to stream on Max.
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