Doctor Who's Paul McGann thought he was responsible for the show being "finished"

The actor played the Eighth Doctor in Doctor Who: The Movie.

By Stefania Sarrubba

7 Nov 2022

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

Doctor Who star Paul McGann has opened up on his return and how he thought the show was done and dusted after his TV movie.

The Whitnail and I star starred as the Eighth Doctor in the 1996 Doctor Who: The Movie, with his arc included in the canon once Russell T Davies revived the series in 2005.

For almost a decade, McGann — who recently reprised the role in Jodie Whittaker's final episode 'The Power of the Doctor' and also appears in documentary Doctor Who Am I — thought his Doctor only existed in a limbo.

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"I remember thinking Doctor Who is now finished and I'm probably partly responsible for it," the actor told Radio Times.

"It's funny to tell now, but at the time, I really was like 'It's me and Peter Cushing. We're in the naughty room. No one's going to mention our names when they talk about Doctor Who,'" he said.

In 2005, Davies (who's set to return to Doctor Who next year with Ncuti Gatwa as the Time Lord) included McGann's Doctor into the official story, bridging the gap between the classic episodes, the TV movie and the series' future.

"I just remember thinking, 'Oh, I love you, Russell!'" McGann said. "I think maybe that break needed to happen, in order for the right custodians to find it, and bring it back to its former glory with their passion," he continued.

BBC

He first returned to the role of the Eighth Doctor in Steven Moffat's 2013 special 'The Night of Doctors', explaining it all happened very quickly.

"We were away, and I got a call from Moffat who said, 'Look, in principle, if I wrote this, would you come back?' so we had a quick conversation. I said, 'Well, can I see a script?' and he said, 'Well, I haven't written it.' I said, 'Well, when are we talking?' and he said 'Next week.' But this is how showbiz works. Even with some of the biggest actors, it just comes down to, 'Are you around next week?'"

McGann also had a cameo in the latest special, marking the final episode with Chris Chibnall at the helm before Russell's return.

"If I never get to play the Doctor on screen again, then it was good to get back into the costume, not wear the wig, say some different lines and look a little older and hopefully sound a little wiser — it was good to do it again," the actor said about coming full circle.

Doctor Who returns in 2023 on BBC One in the UK and Disney+ elsewhere. Meanwhile, in the US, the show airs on BBC America, with series 1-12 available on HBO Max. Classic Doctor Who streams on BritBox in the UK.