The Rebirth of Doctor Who

It was one of the biggest comebacks in British television history when Doctor Who blasted back onto screens in the spring of 2005, now some sixteen years later let’s take a look at how the BBC resurrected the Doctor and transformed Saturday nights in the 21st century. 

After a new, American produced series of Doctor Who failed to materialise in the wake of a lack of interest following Paul McGann’s outing in the title role in the 1996 TV movie, the rights to the show were left to wither away in a dusty corner of the BBC with only the occasional charity spoof episode (1999’s actually quite good The Curse Of Fatal Death that saw Rowan Atkinson initially play the Doctor before regenerating into Jim Broadbent, Richard E Grant, Hugh Grant and latterly Joanna Lumley) or webcasts on the new BBCi service (Scream Of The Shalka which saw Richard E Grant once again assume the role, leading to him being referred to in press releases as the ninth doctor. SOTS itself even makes reference to this) providing sustenance for fans, alongside a stream of repeats on satellite channel UK Gold. 

Rowan Atkinson as the Doctor in 1999's The Curse Of Fatal Death. Rumour has it that the BBC kept that costume (and haircut) in storage ready for when James May joined Top Gear in 2003. 

By 2003, Welshman Russell T Davies was well established as one of British TV’s top writers after garnering critical acclaim for dramas such as Channel 4’s envelope-pushing, Daily Mail reader-infuriating Queer As Folk (1999), Bob & Rose (2001) and The Second Coming (2003). In light of the acclaim and ratings gained by these dramas, the BBC were desperate to get Davies to create a ratings-grabber for them. Despite their overtures, Davies firmly informed the Beeb that Doctor Who would be the only way to getting him to work with them. After persuading BBC Worldwide to licence the rights to the show back to the corporation’s TV department, it was announced in September 2003 that Doctor Who would indeed return with production commencing in 2004 for a 2005 broadcast. 

With Davies on board as Executive Producer and a team of writers recruited including The League of Gentlemen’s Mark Gatiss (a long-time fan of the show who starred as Mr Borusa in 1999’s ‘The Pitch Of Fear’ alongside another known fan of the show, David Walliams), Paul Cornell (whose 1995 Virgin New Adventures book Human Nature was later adapted for season three of the resurrected series), Steven Moffatt (writer of the aforementioned The Curse Of Fatal Death) and Rob Shearman (a prolific writer of Doctor Who Big Finish audio dramas, one of these Jubilee from 2003 eventually found it’s way on to the screen as season one’s Dalek). 

League of Gentlemen actor Mark Gatiss was part of season one's writing team. He had previously written and starred in some Doctor Who Night comedy sketches in 1999. 

With a team of writers in place and a filming location acquired (as the series was to be produced by BBC Wales, the show would be predominantly filmed in Cardiff) all that was needed was an actor to assume the role of the Doctor. Speculation was rife with names such as Bill Nighy, Hugh Grant, Anthony Head and Eddie Izzard linked to the role. Richard E Grant was even mooted to potentially cement his role as the Ninth Doctor until an announcement was made on March 22nd 2004 that Christopher Eccleston had been cast in the title role. Eccleston, 40 at the time, had become well known to British viewers following appearances in acclaimed dramas such as Cracker, Hillsborough, Our Friends In The North with the role allowing him to reunite with Davies after he starred in the main role of 2003’s The Second Coming which saw him  play a Mancunian everyman believe he was in face the son of God (if you can, I thoroughly recommend giving it a watch). 

Former pop singer Billie Piper was cast as the Doctor’s companion Rose Tyler while former Coronation Street actor Bruno Langley and ex-Live And Kicking presenter John Barrowman were to later join the series as regular characters Adam Mitchell and Captain Jack Harkness respectively. Guest stars including Zoe Wanamaker, Simon Callow, Simon Pegg, Richard Wilson and even Anne Robinson were also lined up for supporting roles. 

Unlike the classic series, the revived show would consist of 13 self-contained episodes with the occasional two-parter thrown in for good measure (including the series finale). Doctor Who blasted it’s way back onto British screens on March 26th 2005, premiering with ‘Rose’, written by Davies. 

The Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler were an instant hit for BBC as rave reviews and high ratings were bestowed upon Doctor Who. The Doctor even went into battle against Star Wars as ITV tried in vain to tempt viewers away from BBC 1. 

The show was an instant success for the BBC, attracting overnight ratings of 9.9 million viewers and a second season was announced just four days later. On the same day, another statement was released by the BBC announcing that Eccleston would be stepping down from the role at the end of season one. Rumours abounded that Eccleston had left citing fears of typecasting (later dispelled by the actor) while Davies later said that Eccleston’s initial contract was just for one season in case the revival proved unsuccessful. Scottish actor David Tennant (who had earlier worked with Davies on Casanova) was cast as the Tenth Doctor and would assume the role ready for the 2005 Christmas special. 

Before we get to him though, we have a full season of episodes to get through. Join me later this week when we’ll go back to the start and cast an eye over ‘Rose’. Until then, take care and stay safe people!!