Doctor Who: Is Christopher Eccleston part of The Chuckle?
Doctor Who's 60th anniversary special, 'The Giggle', leaves fans questioning: Does Christopher Eccleston make a surprise appearance as the Ninth Doctor? Get ready for Ncuti Gatwa's debut as the Fifteenth Doctor!
The third and final 60th anniversary special of Doctor Who, titled 'The Giggle', has recently been released. Fans have been eagerly anticipating the appearance of Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor to commemorate the occasion. Potential involvement in the three specials has been the subject of much speculation for several months. Warning: spoilers for 'The Giggle' ahead...
This also makes sense. After all, the English actor starred in Season 1 of the 2005 Doctor Who revival, making him an important part of the show's six-decade history.
However, Eccleston chose not to appear in the 2013 50th anniversary special, 'The Day of the Doctor', leading many fans to believe that a surprise return in 'The Giggle' was unlikely, at best.
Doctor Who: Is Christopher Eccleston in The Giggle?
No, there is no cameo by Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor in ‘The Giggle’. The 60th anniversary special also does not feature any obvious references to his time in the TARDIS.
In contrast, ‘The Giggle’ includes several references to Eccleston’s successors. Not only does it bring back his immediate replacement, David Tennant, and Tennant’s former co-star Catherine Tate, but it also includes explicit connections to Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, and Jodie Whittaker’s time on Doctor Who.
The Toymaker’s (played by Neil Patrick Harris) puppet show prominently features marionette versions of Amy Pond, Clara Oswald, and Bill Potts - all companions from Smith and Capaldi’s time as the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors respectively.
In the same scene, the Toymaker confronts the Fourteenth Doctor with miniature planets on strings. The flamboyant villain then proceeds to cut the planets' strings with scissors, recreating the cosmic destruction witnessed by the Thirteenth Doctor in the "Flux" storyline.
The wider Doctor 60th anniversary special trilogy includes callbacks to the Ninth Doctor as well. Particularly, the second special, 'Wild Blue Yonder', brings back this Doctor's habit of calling unnamed robots "Jimbo" from the Eccleston era.
The Giggle introduces Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor
Nevertheless, the lack of any references to Eccleston in ‘The Giggle’ serves to further underscore showrunner Russell T Davies’ focus on the future of the Doctor Who franchise rather than its history.
Ncuti Gatwa is officially introduced as the Fifteenth Doctor in 'The Giggle', with Davies making it clear that the arrival of the Sex Education star will "reset" Doctor Who. However, the Welsh writer is adamant about not calling it a "reboot", stating that it is a complete reinvention while still retaining the essence of the original show. "It's the same old show, everything starts again," Davies explained.
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Editor's P/S
As a passionate fan of Doctor Who, I was eagerly anticipating the 60th-anniversary special, "The Giggle," hoping to see Christopher Eccleston reprise his role as the Ninth Doctor. Eccleston's portrayal of the Doctor was a pivotal moment in the show's revival, and his absence from the 50th-anniversary special left many fans disappointed. However, it seems that our hopes were in vain, as "The Giggle" made no mention of Eccleston or his time as the Doctor.
While it is understandable that the focus of the anniversary special was on the future of the show, with the introduction of Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor, I can't help but feel a sense of disappointment. Eccleston's Doctor was a beloved character, and his exclusion from the celebration of the show's history feels like a missed opportunity. Nevertheless, I remain optimistic about the future of Doctor Who and look forward to seeing what Gatwa brings to the role.
