Recently, Christopher Eccleston went on a bit of a rant about how he absolutely despised working on two films, “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” and “Thor: The Dark World.” He went so far as saying that he wanted to cut his throat every day. However, towards the end of that interview, Eccleston mentioned how his work on “Doctor Who” almost destroyed his career. In a new interview with Radio Times, he goes a bit further in explaining what exactly happened that led to his exit from the massive TV 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. They lost trust in me, and I lost faith and trust and belief in them,” said Eccleston.
While he isn’t afraid of naming names, Eccleston also puts some of the blame squarely on himself:
“Some of my anger about the situation came from my own insecurity. They employed somebody [as the Doctor] who was not a natural light comedian. Billie [Piper], who we know was and is brilliant, was very, very nervous and very, very inexperienced. So, you had that, and then you had me. Very, very experienced, possibly the most experienced on it, but out of my comfort zone.”
It sounds like the actor was concerned how the people in control over the show just set him up for failure. However, it also sounds like perhaps Eccleston should have done more research into the role before deciding to sign up for the show. But you know, hindsight and all that.
With that being said, it’s been over a decade since Eccleston starred as the Doctor, so why speak up now? According to the actor, it was out of a deal he made with then-“Doctor Who” showrunner, Russell T Davies. “When I left, I gave my word to Russell T Davies that I wouldn’t do anything to damage the show. But they did things to damage me. I didn’t criticize anybody,” he continued.
It definitely sounds like there’s no love lost between the star and Davies. In fact, in the interview he explains that he believes that Davies knew about the drama behind the scenes, saying, “If you’re the showrunner, you know everything. That’s your job.”
Eccleston ends the discussion by saying he “never will have” a working relationship with Davies again.