Doctor Who star Paul McGann has raised eyebrows with recent comments made about his successor David Tennant.
As part of a joint interview in Doctor Who’s official magazine with co-star Charley Pollard, the pair reflected on the rare moments of romance that have been featured in the long-running sci-fi show over the years.
Charley recalled that her character was supposed to kiss The Doctor in the 2003 audio-only special Scherzo, but this was instead changed to them “melding into one” instead.
“Now, of course, the Doctor is snogging all over the shop,” she claimed, to which Paul agreed: “That’s because of David Tennant! The David Cassidy of Doctors!”
When Radio Times shared this quote on X, fans were quick to point out that it was actually Paul’s Doctor who gave the character his first on-screen kiss with a Time Lord’s companion…
Elsewhere in the interview, Paul said that the Doctor’s relationship with Charley had “to be platonic” due to their complicated history.
“The Doctor cannot be a love interest. It’s impossible,” he said, later adding: “I think that’s the rule you don’t break. I think if that happened, Doctor Who would lose one of its hugest advantages. You can’t go back after that.”
Last year saw David returning to the Tardis for the first time in a decade, to commemorate Doctor Who’s landmark 60th anniversary, reuniting with his former co-star Catherine Tate.
In the last of these specials, The Doctor bi-generated for the first time, with Ncuti Gatwa now at the helm of the much-loved sci-fi show.