Christopher Eccleston pulled no punches when asked what it would take to get him to return to the world of Doctor Who.
The Our Friends In The North actor famously played the Ninth Doctor when the long-running sci-fi show returned to screens in 2005, but he quit after just one series and was replaced by David Tennant.
In the decades since, Christopher has made no secret of the fact he didn’t exactly have the best time working on Doctor Who, and vowed never to work with then-showrunner Russell T Davies – who is now back at the helm of the show – again.
During an appearance at the For The Love Of Sci-Fi convention, he was asked by a fan “what would have to happen” for him to return to Doctor Who, as David Tennant recently did for the show’s 60th anniversary specials.
“Sack Russell T Davies,” Christopher bluntly responded (via Metro), before naming a string of producers he would also not work with again.
He added: “[Do that] and I’ll come back. So, can you arrange that?”
Christopher previously accused the BBC of “blacklisting” him after he stepped down from Doctor Who, and later claimed he’d taken legal action against the corporation after they released a statement on his behalf about his exit without his consent.
In 2020, he surprised Doctor Who fans with the news he was reprising his role as the Time Lord for the first time in 15 years, as part of an audio series.
Since his departure, The Doctor has been played by David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, Jodie Whittaker and, as of this month, Ncuti Gatwa.