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David Tennant discusses his first offer to play Doctor Who in his latest podcast episode, admitting he would have turned down the career-defining role had he listened to his agent. The 53-year-old played the Tenth Doctor in the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who, in three seasons, beginning in 2005. He reprised the role in at least nine specials, and most notably, returned as the Fourteenth Doctor, another reincarnated version of the centuries-old alien Time Lord in 2023.
Twenty years after he first graced the screens as the fictional character, Doctor Who remains David Tennant’s most notable role. In an episode of David Tennant Does a Podcast With… which aired this week, the Doctor Who actor discussed how he landed the role, and the one advice that would have changed the course of his career.
David Tennant Admits He Almost Turned Down Doctor Who Gig
For the episode, the actor’s wife, Georgia Tennant, who stood in as host, recalled how executive producers Russell T. Davies and Julie Gardner enticed him with footage from the first season of the series’ revival, which starred Christopher Eccleston. They then proceeded to ask about his interest in playing the next doctor. Although David knew from the start he wanted to take on the role, his wife noted that he “pretended to think about it for like a day or something.” The 53-year-old cut in, saying, “It was longer than that.”
Georgia pushed on, pointing out that David Tennant “clearly” knew he would take the Doctor Who role, given it was his childhood dream. In response, the actor admitted that despite having his mind set on it, his agent at the time warned him against accepting the gig, predicting it would flop. That advice made him almost backtrack his decision. David recalled,
“Well, maybe I was clearly going to do it. But there was definitely a moment where I wasn’t, I had an agent at the time who was like, ‘Don’t touch it. It’s not going to work. Not my current agent. A previous brilliant agent who’s since retired, but she didn’t call that correctly.”
Why Viewers Agree With David’s Agent
While David Tennant did accept to play the character, and went on to become one of the most loved Doctor Who depictions, there was just an equal chance his agent might have been right. Viewers of the British franchise agree that David’s decision was indeed one big gamble. According to most, the advice from his agent was the best one at the time, given the circumstances, and no one could have foreseen a future where the Doctor Who revival became a hit. In fact, many believed David’s presence was the huge turnaround it needed, as the franchise would have become a failure like his agent predicted, without his three-year stint. One Reddit user wrote,
“It wasn’t unreasonable advice, given that it was a revival of a series that had previously been cancelled and after a single season was already recasting the main character. You could argue that the success of the series was actually significant because of Tennant’s role in it, and without him, it may not have exploded the way it did.”
Another wrote,
“For any other actor, I would agree with that advice. To have the role permanently attached to you, if you did well. Or a stain on your career, if you did badly. And that’s not even considering the fandom. But Tennant was a real DW geek. And it’s not common for people get offered their childhood dream job.”
A third shared,
“He was cast before the show had even gone back on screen, the franchise was still a national joke while Tennant was an up and comer with serious talent. It’s literally only bad advice due to hindsight.”
Other fans were simply glad David “ignored that good advice,” regardless of what is now known due to hindsight. After his three-season run and 2023 return as the Fourteenth Doctor, David Tennant cemented his name in the hearts of viewers. As fans know, David’s Dr Who regenerated into the Eleventh Doctor, played by House of Dragon star Matt Smith. Two more versions of the fictional character have since followed, including the current incarnation, the Fifteenth Doctor, played by Ncuti Gatwa. Regardless of who fronts the role of the mystical alien doctor, it surely stands out as a defining moment in their career. His former agent couldn’t be more wrong.
