CthulhuSpawn Posted April 16, 2005 Share Posted April 16, 2005 This Just in From "This Week In Doctor Who": "16 days and a few hours after the BBC announced that Christopher Eccleston was departing the role of the Doctor, they have announced David Tennant as the new Doctor. David Tennant will assume the role for series 2 (it is unclear which actor will be the Doctor in the Christmas special). The news should eventually be on the BBC Doctor Who website yet http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho . Right now Outpost Gallifrey http://www.gallifreyone.com has a picture of Tennant, the news, and a good biography on the actor. Here is the official BBC press release on the news: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2005/04_april/ 16/tennant.shtml David Tennant is confirmed as the tenth Doctor Who, it was announced today by Jane Tranter, BBC Controller of Drama Commissioning, following the recommissioning of the second series. Tennant, whose recent credits include BBC THREE's critically- acclaimed drama series Casanova, BBC ONE's Blackpool and He Knew He Was Right, will star alongside Billie Piper who returns as Rose Tyler. Julie Gardner, BBC Head of Drama, Wales says: "Christopher Eccleston has given an exceptional performance as the ninth Doctor. "David Tennant is a great actor who will build on the excellent work already done by Christopher in establishing Doctor Who for a new generation." David Tennant says: "I am delighted, excited and honoured to be the tenth Doctor! "I grew up loving Doctor Who and it has been a lifelong dream to get my very own TARDIS. "Russell T Davies is one of the best writers television has ever had, and I'm chuffed to bits to get the opportunity to work with him again. "I'm also really looking forward to working with Billie Piper who is so great as Rose. "Taking over from Chris is a daunting prospect; he has done a fantastic job of reinventing the Doctor for a new generation and is a very tough act to follow." Executive producer/writer Russell T Davies adds: "Christopher Eccelston's wonderful Doctor has reinvented the role, so that it now appeals to the best actors in the land. "I'm already writing David's first new adventure on board the TARDIS! "Regeneration is a huge part of the programme's mythology, and I'm delighted that new, young viewers can now have the complete Doctor Who experience, as they witness their hero change his face!" A new 13-part adventure and Christmas special begins filming in Cardiff in the summer for transmission on BBC ONE. And here's the BBC news version: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4450285.stm Tennant to take over the Tardis The new Doctor Who has been officially named as David Tennant, the star of BBC period drama Casanova. Tennant, 33, will become the 10th Time Lord when filming starts on the new series in Cardiff this summer. He is taking over from Christopher Eccleston, who announced he was quitting last month after only one series as the Doctor. Tennant, who will star alongside Billie Piper, said he was "delighted, excited and honoured". Other actors who had been linked with the time-travelling role included Bill Nighy, Eddie Izzard, Richard E Grant, David Thewlis and Alan Davies. "I grew up loving Doctor Who and it has been a lifelong dream to get my very own Tardis," said Tennant. "Taking over from Chris is a daunting prospect - he has done a fantastic job of reinventing the Doctor for a new generation and is a very tough act to follow." "I'm also really looking forward to working with Billie Piper who is so great as Rose." He also said he was "chuffed to bits" to be working again with executive producer Russell T Davies, who also wrote Casanova. Tennant, from Bathgate, West Lothian, has also starred in BBC shows Blackpool and He Knew He Was Right, and the Stephen Fry movie Bright Young Things. He also voiced a role in the 2003 internet episode of Doctor Who, Scream of the Shalka. 'Great actor' Davies said he had already started writing Tennant's first adventure on board the Tardis. "Regeneration is a huge part of the programme's mythology, and I'm delighted that new, young viewers can now have the complete Doctor Who experience, as they witness their hero change his face!" He said Christopher Eccleston has reinvented the role of Doctor Who so that it appealed to the best actors in the land. Julie Gardner, BBC Head of Drama, Wales added: "Christopher Eccleston has given an exceptional performance as the ninth Doctor. "David Tennant is a great actor who will build on the excellent work already done by Christopher in establishing Doctor Who for a new generation." A new 13-part adventure and Christmas special will start filming later in 2005. -------------------------------- So, we have the new Doctor for 2006. And until then, we have the unfolding adventures of the Ninth Doctor and Rose. Congratulations, David Tennant. Benjamin Elliott This Week In Doctor Who http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thisweekindoctorwho" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antilles Posted April 16, 2005 Share Posted April 16, 2005 Well I hope they force him into more than a 1 year contract this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinpusher Posted April 16, 2005 Share Posted April 16, 2005 Yes, I agree. I think that Eccleston will be a tough act to follow and I think that RTD will have his work cut out for him in bringing regeneration to an audience that may have not experienced it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starcrunch Posted April 16, 2005 Share Posted April 16, 2005 I am going to download this Casanova thing and check Tennant out, I agree that they should've had Eccleston sign some of long term contract, and hope they get Tennant to do so. Patrick Troughton once gave advice to the effect of one should never play the doctor for more than 3 years. Eccleston could have at least done it a little longer, I hope they at least give Tennant a regeneration scene This is rough though because Eccleston was starting to grow on me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CthulhuSpawn Posted April 16, 2005 Author Share Posted April 16, 2005 Thanks to Cthulhu for posting all that in one nice place... :cyclops: Lol, sorry about the long post. I guess the links alone would have worked. I was just so excited about concrete news on this that I cut and paste the entire newsletter! I haven't actually seen David Tennant act in anything myself. I've been thinking of grabbing Casanova to see what his style is, ie, you could see how Bill Nighy might've played the Doctor from his style on shows like "Kiss Me Kate". Eccleston is great, but maybe the transition will be easier for us since he will have been in the role for only a short time. Like you said, if the quality remains high, then I'm there. IMO, they have kept the general spirit of the series intact, and I am loving the stories. I just miss cliffhangers... :( Also, I've been wondering, does anyone think they'll handle the regeneration of Paul McGann into Chris Eccleston through the Big Finish audio dramas? What would you think of that idea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CthulhuSpawn Posted April 16, 2005 Author Share Posted April 16, 2005 That's great to hear, StevenofNine. All of that comes from a weekly newsletter (unless there is breaking news like this story, then Ben seems to be pretty fast with it) that you can subscribe to at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thisweekindoctorwho. Outpost Gallifrey seems to be just about as quick, but I can't look at it all the time. Almost always when there's breaking Who news, Ben will have it in your Inbox seemingly within just a few minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrusadrMoron Posted April 16, 2005 Share Posted April 16, 2005 Ia IA CthulhuSpawn Fatghn! Darn man you did good getting us this scoop. Thank you very much for the info B) I second StevenofNine's view on news briefings. I'd rather read and have the post stored away here in relative security than have to slough through the ever shifting digital morasse to find possibly post dated news bits. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolcat13 Posted April 16, 2005 Share Posted April 16, 2005 Will Christopher will indeed be tough to follow . I was impressed with his work .I hope that Tennant can follow suit and keep the series going strong . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ResidentNice Posted April 17, 2005 Share Posted April 17, 2005 For those who have seen the BBC drama Casanova (most will be people who live in England like myself, when it was broadcast) Tennant shows potential, but we will have to wait and see as being the Doctor could require a slightly different way of acting than playing a character that is not sci-fi based. -=ReZ=- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starcrunch Posted April 19, 2005 Share Posted April 19, 2005 I just downloaded and watched Casanova and I agree that Tennant has real potential, I didn't really like Eccleston at first, and any Doctor is good for me, I survived Sylvester McCoy so I can stomach anyone I'd imagine\ I really liked the guy who did the web-cast "scream of the Shalka" would like to see another one of his, but I don't think he quite fits in anywhere, must be an alternate universe Doctor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbbb Posted April 19, 2005 Share Posted April 19, 2005 Interesting. Is the new Dr Who good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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