David Tennant calls Doctor Who return “a total joy from start to finish”

David Tennant has been discussing his surprise return to Doctor Who, calling his decision to re-join the sci-fi show “a no-brainer.”

Jodie Whittaker left Doctor Who last night, with her iteration of The Doctor regenerating. But while fans were expecting Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa to appear, Whittaker instead turned into… David Tennant.

The BBC had previously announced Tennant’s return, but we didn’t know if it would be a glorified cameo, or something more substantial.

His Doctor’s first words were “I know these teeth,” while feeling his mouth. He then looked at his hands and clothes while exclaiming “What?” Then felt his face, and with a look of shock and anger, again exclaimed “What?”

David Tennant is back as The Doctor

David Tennant will play The Doctor in three episodes, to air in November 2023. And he won’t be alone, as Catherine Tate is back too, as his companion Donna Noble. Previous showrunner Russell T. Davies is also onboard for the brief run, and had this to say about the surprise…

“If you thought the appearance of David Tennant was a shock, we’ve got plenty more surprises on the way. The path to Ncuti’s 15th Doctor is laden with mystery, horror, robots, puppets, danger and fun.

“And how is it connected to the return of the wonderful Donna Noble? How, what, why? We’re giving you a year to speculate, and then all hell lets loose.”

What did David Tennant say about his surprise Doctor Who return?

Speaking to the BBC about his surprise return, David Tennant called it: “A lovely, lovely thing to get to revisit something that was such a wonderful, happy, significant, time in my life.

“You move on from it with a whole mixture of emotions, and one of those is sadness and regret so to be able to revisit that and to get another shot, it was a total joy, from start to finish.”

Tennant added: “It didn’t really feel like a risk. I knew that Russell T. Davies was in charge, and I love working with him, and I love receiving a script with his name on the front, so that just felt like it was a bit of a no-brainer really.”

When will we see Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor?

Ncuti Gatwa will become the fifteenth Doctor during the 2023 festive period, with the smart money being on his taking control of the TARDIS on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Tennant has already seen the actor at work, and calls Gatwa: “Scarily good. Brilliant. I think the world has got a very exiting new Doctor to look forward to. Once you’ve enjoyed this one for a little while longer.”