frelling_tralk | Christopher Eccleston talks more about Doctor Who

May 2020

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Christopher Eccleston says he “lost faith and trust and belief” in Doctor Who bosses while filming

After recently claiming he was “blacklisted” by the BBC after leaving Doctor Who, former Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston has now revealed more about the tensions he felt on set during filming for the sci-fi series.

“My relationship with my three immediate superiors – the showrunner, the producer and co-producer – broke down irreparably during the first block of filming and it never recovered,” Eccleston says in the latest issue of Radio Times...Describing the situation as “very” stressful, Eccleston claims that he felt out of place playing a lighter role, and believes it may have contributed to on-set difficulties.

“Some of my anger about the situation came from my own insecurity,” he says. “They employed somebody [as the Doctor] who was not a natural light comedian”

“When I left, I gave my word to [then-showrunner] Russell T Davies that I wouldn’t do anything to damage the show,” he says. “But they did things to damage me. I didn’t criticise anybody.”

Asked if Davies was aware of the issues, Eccleston says, “If you’re the showrunner, you know everything. That’s your job,” adding that he “never will have” a working relationship with the screenwriter again.

Interesting... I always heard from DW fandom that CE’s issues were supposedly more with the BBC, but apparently it *was* RTD and the Doctor Who head people that he was having problems with? I know there were rumours that he wasn’t very happy with how the director for the Aliens Of London was treating the crew, but now I’m wondering what on earth happened with RTD that upset him so much...

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This one person on a message person I infrequently post at claims that RTD always wanted Tennant and Eccleston was always meant to be a "transition" Doctor and never the real thing or something? I don't know where he got that from though.

So the source of this snippet was a 'Radio Times' interview?

I'm sad to hear he had such a bad experience with the show. I've been casually re-watching New Who and I must say that that first season with him and Piper still has so many of my favourite episodes.

Hmm interesting, I can definitely see CE feeling letdown if it did somehow come out that RTD only saw him as a transition Doctor. They both precisely spoke so highly of one another in the press though, so I was actually very surprised to hear Chris saying that things with RTD were so tense from early on

And I really enjoyed the first season as well, it had such strong character arcs for both Rose and the Doctor

That makes me so sad because now I enjoy his episodes a lot more then Tennant's. That sucks that he was treated that way because he would've been amazing in more seasons.

I did as well, while the rest of the fandom fell in love with the Tenth Doctor, he was always a bit too hipster cool for me tbh

True, I like Rose/Ten more than I do Rose/Nine but I really started to dislike Ten after a while. I've reverted to Nine as being my NuWho Doctor.

It honestly doesn't surprise me whenever something like this happens. There's probably at least a little bit of drama behind the scenes of almost everything we love.

It sucks for Eccleston, though. I had heard a long time ago he just didn't know what he was getting into; then something closer to what you thought. Sounds like it was maybe somewhere in between, where he knew what he was getting into, but obviously didn't realize he'd be treated badly (because no one should expect that).

Edited Date: 2018-03-20 05:48 pm (UTC)

I know that everyone involved talked about not being prepared for the production demands and the long hours in the beginning, I seem to remember a friend of CE’s commenting at the time that Chris was very overworked and having health flare ups because of all the night shoots. Obviously the later actors did benefit from the lessons learned early on about just how much work 13 episodes would entail, thus bringing in the tradition of one Doctor-lite episode each season.

I suppose that RTD felt under a lot of pressure when he was the one responsible for bringing back a British institution and making a success of it, so perhaps there was a tendency to be unsympathetic and brush off any issues being raised with the workload or whatever, when they were already stressed out about being behind?

It always make me sad that he had such a rubbish experience on the show since he's my favourite Doctor.

The above idea

honeymink posted about CE being used as something of a temporary Doctor actually makes a lot of sense as to why he would have been unhappy. If he we think he was never told that and went in thinking he was truly wanted for the role, but then found out they wanted DT, that coupled with his insecurities could've made for an unhappy working environment (not to mention the alleged over working of cast and crew). CE certainly seems someone who would think, "Fine, you want someone else, you can have them." and finish off after 1 series because of it.

Edited Date: 2018-03-20 05:46 pm (UTC)

Yeah I’m not sure what to think, but I do remember that RTD did seem to have DT in mind *very* quickly after CE was confirmed to be quitting, and there was all the talk of how much he loved him in Casanova, so I wouldn’t be shocked if DT was secretly his first choice. I recall that CE explicitly said at the time that he knew he would never be thought of for the part, so he was the one who originally contacted RTD and really pushed for it. Idk maybe it was the BBC who favoured him over the more or less unknown DT and forced RTD’s hand, it did legitimatise DW in a lot of people’s eyes once a ~serious~ actor was attached to the project.

I always felt sad that Christopher Eccleston only had one season as the Doctor. He was my first introduction to the Doctor, and will always remain my Doctor (I loved Nine/Rose so much, their interactions were adorable and endearing). He was so delightful and wonderful, he embodied the character fantastically. Reading about the troubles he had with not just the BBC (esp with them blacklisting him) but also production of the show and clashing with RTD makes his departure even more devastating. I feel like, had things been different, his run on the show could've been marvelous. And RTD/BBC just mistreated him like that and it makes me so, so sad on his behalf. He deserved better than that. :(

I totally agree, it always seems like his Doctor (and Nine/Rose as well) were very much overshadowed by what came later with most viewers immediately preferring DT’s more youthful Doctor, but I’ve always had a soft spot for the first season. I loved the character arcs for Rose and the Doctor, and how they both came into the others lives when they most needed it. It is tough to know how badly things were handled behind the scenes

Edited Date: 2018-03-21 01:16 am (UTC)

It's a shame that he had such a bad experience working on the show, because he's one of my favorite Doctors.

He was one of mine as well, he was the Doctor who first made me fall in love with the show :)

From what I have gleaned from The Writers Tale, that first season was massively stressful for everyone. After a week of shooting they were already a month behind, or something - it was a much bigger and more complicated undertaking than anyone had realised, and they were working out how to make it as they went along. And there certainly are tone-issues in S1 and a good deal of slapstick humour that probably didn't really work. That all this impacted on CE not surprising, and RTD can be very harsh when needs be. :(

Oh interesting, would you say The Writers Tale is worth reading then?

And it definitely started off with a very CBBC’ish tone with the farting aliens, so I could see CE getting frustrated and saying that’s not exactly what he signed up for, and RTD perhaps lashing out in response as it was Chris who sought out the role in the first place. Honestly it sounds like Chris was so keen to challenge himself that he stepped a bit *too* far out of his comfort zone, and then never felt very supported by anyone on set.

Oh interesting, would you say The Writers Tale is worth reading then?
The Writers Tale is interesting from a Doctor Who perspective, but it's also the single best book I have ever read about *writing*. I can't recommend it enough.

so I could see CE getting frustrated and saying that’s not exactly what he signed up for, and RTD perhaps lashing out in response as it was Chris who sought out the role in the first place.
RTD would have been stressed out of his mind, so yeah. Recipe for disaster.

I feel almost sorry for Christopher as he's a terrific and charismatic actor... and we were robbed of a 2nd season with him because of the problems "behind the scenes"... I would have loved to see more of him as a doctor... oh well...

I would have liked to have seen more of him too, I always liked Nine/Rose more than the Tenth Doctor and Rose pairing to be honest

This was sad, but not surprising to read. The worst part, frankly, was seeing that a previously good working relationship between RTD and CE apparently broke down so badly. I've always thought Eccleston stood up for the rights of the cast, and that he didn't get support for that stand when he took it. I'm also impressed by the way he took some of the blame on himself. He's always been a bit sercon (even though he can do "light" really well, as far as I'm concerned), but he's also a very honorable man.

(And one of my favorite doctors, definitely.)

I was a bit disappointed to read that as well, especially after CE previously talked so highly of RTD’s work and how much he admired Queer As Folk and The Second Comimg, it’s sad to now read that they clashed so badly

And yep the story I always heard was that CE was upset about a director bullying the crew, and that’s what he was alluding too with his previous comments on not agreeing with the culture of the show. Obviously he never found the supportive work environment that he was hoping for after he did choose to take a risk and try something different from his usual roles

I heard how unhappy he was before, but reading this just makes me so sad. He remains my favourite Doctor, and the show never felt "right" anymore after he left.

I got really attached to him as well, it was never the same for me with DT’s Doctor

Interesting. My understanding was that he was always only going to do one series of DW and that was stipulated when he put himself forward for the part, because he does not like to repeat himself and therefore rarely does more than one series of anything. Maybe there was an option for him to stay on but he declined after his experience on the show.

Seems like he wanted the show to be one thing but that was at odds with what the showrunners were aiming for (and since some of what they were aiming for was the juvenile farting aliens I'm with him to some extent!). There are some great eps in the first series but he always seemed a bit out of place on the show to me, especially when comparing to the Doctors that followed (though that's possibly because we never really got to know him). I found him a bit humourless and hard to warm to as the Doctor, and he's always been my least favourite of the New Who doctors tbh. I'm sad to hear that it was such an unpleasant experience for him though - I thought the Who set was generally a fun happy place.

That was how I understood it as well, that CE believed that they had only ever discussed him starring in one series, and of course at the time there was no guarantees that the show would be a success. It sounds like the BBC really lashed out in response when he didn’t want to stay on, perhaps seeing it as him putting the show in jeopardy when there were no guarantees that viewers would accept a major actor change so early on, whereas Chris likely saw it as he had already fulfilled the terms of their agreement in launching the show

And it does sound like it was the farting alien two-parter that really got things off on the wrong foot! Those episodes were the ones were CE arguably looked the most out of his comfort zone, he went a little OT with the physical comedy at times, and I wonder if that was down to the problems he was having with the direction? It’s a shame they didn’t just film the episodes in order as Rose was a much better example of what RTD was aiming to do with DW

Edited Date: 2018-03-21 07:17 pm (UTC)

Wow. Sorry to hear all that, but I'm kinda interested and want to know more.

Same, it would be interesting to get some more details, especially after he’s kept quiet about his reasons for leaving for as long as he has

I wish he had stayed longer, cause I vastly prefer his doctor to Tennant's. Tennant got really good, but Eccleston was on FIRE.
This makes me so sad.

Edited Date: 2018-03-24 11:28 am (UTC)

I did as well :( Perhaps it's better in a way that his doctor left on a high after one great season, but I would certainly loved to have had a few more episodes with the Ninth Doctor

I can't say anything new, just wanted to echo how sad it is to learn this. Nine is my fave doctor as well, and while I warmed to DT after a while, he never managed to take CE's place in my heart.

The saddest is that it makes RTD look bad, and he'd been such a pristine idol for me until this point. Nobody's perfect, I guess.

Oh that’s how I felt as as well when I heard Christopher Eccleston say that he would never work with RTD again, I always liked to imagine that his main issues were with the BBC, it’s hard for me to imagine RTD being the problem when he always seems so smiley and lovely in interviews :( I mean I’m sure there was fault on all sides to be fair, but definitely it sounds like Chris could have been more supported than he was

Edited Date: 2018-03-25 09:44 am (UTC)

Well, let no one ever say that Eccleston minces words. Little weird since I remember he and RTD talked well of each other, or at least near the start?

I always got the impression that Eccleston didn't have a good feel for what the show involved, and that he himself didn't think he meshed well with the overall goal of the show (makes sense in the idea that DT was the intended one).

Yes, CE was really gushing in the beginning about how much he admired RTD’s writing and wanted to work with him

I think that the 13 episode order was likely part of the problem, that they challenged themselves a bit too much? 13 episodes was a *lot* for the U.K. considering that most shows only get around six episodes on average, and it does sound like everyone was very stretched with the extra challenge of creating the Sci Fi worlds and special effects as well. I’d say that CE would definitely have been very unprepared for how much work that involved, and it sounds like he was ultimately left disillusioned at how the team handled the workload pressure... I know years ago he made vague comments about not agreeing with the culture of the show, which was generally seen as an allusion to him reportedly getting upset at one of the directors bullying the crew

Huh...this is interesting...

It is, it’s intriguing to have a bit more come out about his reasons for leaving

Edited Date: 2018-03-26 05:37 pm (UTC)

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