Doctor Who (2005)
In March 2004, it was announced that Eccleston was to play the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the upcoming revival of the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who. He had emailed Davies, the series' lead writer, in late 2003 to express interest in auditioning for the role. Eccleston's casting was unexpected considering his association with gritty northern dramas, and lent credibility to a series considered light entertainment. He cited the quality of the scripts as a reason for joining the cast, stating in a BBC Breakfast interview that he was "excited" about working with Davies. In contrast to his predecessors who typically spoke with an RP accent, Eccleston used his natural Northern accent in the role. His aim was to challenge the correlation between the Doctor's intellect and his accent. He was the first actor born after the series' debut in 1963 to star in the lead role.
Doctor Who filming began in July 2004. By January 2005 he had decided to leave the series, and had arranged with the BBC to make a joint statement in future. Doctor Who's first series debuted on 26 March 2005. On 30 March, in a response to press questions, the BBC stated that Eccleston was leaving the role due to the series' gruelling schedule and to avoid becoming typecast. On 4 April, producer Jane Tranter publicly apologised to Eccleston on behalf of the BBC, admitting that the statement was falsely attributed and released without his consent. Following his departure, Eccleston was succeeded by David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor.Eccleston's performance as the Doctor was widely praised for its realism, humanity and emotional depth, as well as for his chemistry with co-star Billie Piper. He was nominated for a Broadcasting Press Guild Award and a BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Actor. He also won Most Popular Actor at the 2005 National Television Awards. In a 2006 Doctor Who Magazine poll, Eccleston's portrayal of the Doctor was voted the third best behind Tom Baker and David Tennant. In April 2011, IGN opined that Eccleston's "tough-as-nails Doctor damaged by war and guilt" still possesses "the same spark of fun and adventure as his previous selves" and credited Eccleston for introducing a new generation to Doctor Who. Gavin Fuller of The Daily Telegraph noted that, as a primarily dramatic actor, Eccleston's "attempts at a lighter style could seem a tad forced", though this was "offset by his showdowns against the Daleks". A 2012 poll conducted by Entertainment Weekly voted Eccleston as the fourth most popular Doctor.
In the years since leaving the role, Eccleston has elaborated on his experience filming the series. He criticised the environment and culture that the cast and crew worked in and said that staying in the role would require him to "blind [himself] to certain things that [he] thought were wrong". In 2011 he stated "it’s easy to find a job when you've got no morals, you've got nothing to be compromised, you can go, 'Yeah, yeah. That doesn’t matter. That director can bully that prop man and I won't say anything about it'." His professional relationship with showrunner Russell T Davies, producer Julie Gardner and co-producer Phil Collinson "broke down" during the first block of filming and never recovered. He also felt out of his comfort zone as he was "not a natural light comedian", and had stated in 2005 that Doctor Who was "a massive risk for [him]" because he was not known for "charm or comedy". Eccleston criticised the BBC's falsely attributed statement as being damaging to his career, and claimed he was subsequently blacklisted by the BBC, forcing him to take part in more American productions whilst waiting for "regime change". Eccleston has maintained that he is proud of Doctor Who and stated in 2015: "I hope I'll be remembered as one of the Doctors. I have no ill feeling towards the character or the series".
After discussions with executive producer Steven Moffat, Eccleston declined to return for the series' 50th anniversary special, "The Day of the Doctor" (2013), as he did not feel the script "did justice to the Ninth Doctor". As a result, John Hurt was cast as the War Doctor to fill the Ninth Doctor's role.
In July 2018, Eccleston began appearing as a guest at Doctor Who conventions for the first time. He had previously expressed his reluctance to appear at conventions, saying in 2017 that he preferred to "just earn [his] living by acting". In 2019 he said that his experience of meeting fans at conventions "healed something in [him]" and made him re-evaluate his relationship to the series.
On 9 August 2020, it was announced that Eccleston would reprise his role as the Ninth Doctor in licensed audio dramas for Big Finish Productions, across four boxsets beginning with a release in May 2021. This was the first time he had portrayed the character in 16 years. Eccleston was later confirmed to appear in further boxsets releasing in 2022 and 2023, as well as the audio series Once and Future. On his decision to return to the role, Eccleston stated that "the deciding factor—it might not be fashionable to say it—is that it's paid work, particularly in a pandemic. After that it was the quality of the writing". When asked in 2023 what it would take for him to return to the character on television, Eccleston replied, "sack Russell T Davies, sack Jane Tranter, sack Phil Collinson, sack Julie Gardner and I'll come back."
