Doctor Who star David Tennant reveals why he was "worried" about returning

Once a Doctor, always a Doctor.

By Stefania Sarrubba

24 Oct 2022

Doctor Who's 'The Power of the Doctor' spoilers follow.

Returning Doctor Who star David Tennant has opened up about being back in the role for the series' latest special.

Aired last night (October 23), the episode marked Jodie Whittaker's last appearance in the titular role. In the final moments of the special, the regeneration revealed a new Time Lord who isn't so new after all, as David Tennant's Tenth Doctor appears.

In a chat with BBC Radio 4's Today show, the Scottish actor admitted to being "worried" about reprising the role for the first time since his cameo in a 2013 special.

doctor who, david tennant as the fourteenth doctor

BBC

"[I was] worried before I got there that it might be difficult to get in the groove again," he shared.

"There's bit of a precedent in this show that all Doctors maybe turn up for a special now and again, but usually in cohort with the current team, so to get another run round the park was a little joy I never saw coming."

Tennant also described his original stint on Doctor Who, which ran from 2005 to 2010, as "such a wonderful, happy, significant time in my life".

BBC

"Doctor Who runs through my life as if through a stick of rock... It's a show that I loved as a small child – I grew up up obsessed with it – and then to be part of the show, to go on that journey and to come back to it now when I thought it was a memory, it's like being given the loveliest present," he said.

"It's been an absolute joy."

The Good Omens star will return as Ten/Fourteen in three special episodes alongside Catherine Tate as companion Donna Noble, before Ncuti Gatwa (Sex Education) takes over as the new Doctor at the end of next year.

Doctor Who airs on BBC One in the UK. In the US, the show airs on BBC America, with series 1-12 available on HBO Max. Classic Doctor Who streams exclusively on BritBox in the UK.