David Tennant and Catherine Tate are to return to Doctor Who, the BBC has confirmed. The pair are currently filming for the sci-fi show's 60th anniversary, which it will celebrate in 2023. Tennant played the 10th Doctor on the time travel drama from 2005-2010, while Tate played companion Donna Noble. The news comes a week after the BBC announced that Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa will be the next Doctor. Tennant and Tate's involvement means they will be reunited with returning Doctor Who head writer Russell T Davies. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-61455936
Decade anniversary shows are always multi-Doctor. Anyone want to bet against there being a couple more announced in coming months?
The news story does not say this is for the 60th anniversary episode, so perhaps the idea that they're doing multiple one-offs featuring past Doctors for the anniversary year has some truth to it. We also know that Rachel Tallalay has been hanging out with Peter Capaldi and Matt Lucas recently.
Fantastic news! Series four was by far my favorite of the Davies run so it'll be good to see them together again. They've done great work with Big Finish in recent years so, of course, the chemistry is still there. Well, that's being a bit pedantic. The article says they're filming for the 60th anniversary so unless otherwise stated, it's safe to assume their doing for the 60th anniversary episode.
This is the first multi-Doctor anniversary story that's also gonna be a new Doctor's first episode. Talk about pressure! Ncuti's gonna have to explode out of the starting gate and be ready to steal the show from every-damn-one!
I doubt the bookies will see it that way. Those betters were going on the idea of Tennant being The Fourteenth Doctor specifically!
Just out of curiosity can anybody point me to an official BBC announcement that the 60th Anniversary celebration will only consist of one episode.
To coincide this big news, Big Finish is doing a 65% sale on all David Tennant (and other Tenth Doctor related) audio plays! I didn't say that. I said there's no evidence for more than one so the default assumption is one because that's what all of the previous anniversaries have been. Can it be more than one? Sure, of course, and I would love for more. I'm just saying that you're being pedantic running around in each of the threads saying the article "does not say this is for the 60th anniversary episode" (your emphasis).
I like both Ten and Donna, but this specific announcement all but guarantees that the Fourteenth Doctor's debut is going to be overshadowed.
Holy shit. That's the reaction. That said, I do think it's more likely were getting more than one special for next year. Like, what about the Talalay/Capaldi rumors earlier in the year? It's happening.
I love the Doctor & Donna. Donna is my favorite companion for the 10th Doctor (even though I started off not liking her in the Christmas episode). They gave me the biggest laughs and saddest moments of 10s run. I cannot friggin wait. Hmm, but Davis doesn't like multi-Doctor episodes......
Unfortunately, that's something we've had to contend with ever since we knew Davies was coming back. As you yourself pointed out many times, it's highly unlikely we're getting any series 14 before the 60th anniversary special so it's unfortunate timing. However, this does give credence to the possibility of multiple specials. Gatwa gets his proper introduction while Tennant and Tate have their own adventure (possibly with Capaldi and Lucas). Aw, don't hate on Tate! She was the best Tennant companion!
Ten and Donna are not characters who needed to come back for this specific milestone of the series; if they were going to bring back past characters to help mark the anniversary, they should've picked ones whose presence wouldn't automatically steal the focus away from the Fourteenth Doctor. * sigh *
Jesus, it's the 60th anniversary, and it's the guy who brought the show back from the dead before. If any showrunner has earned an actual chance to make this work, it's RTD.
Tennant and Tate are two of the most popular actors to ever appear on the show; having them around for the 60th Anniversary automatically means that they'll suck all of the oxygen out of the room regardless of how substantial or insubstantial their roles are.