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DAVID Tennant has signed up to four more specials playing Doctor Who.
As the latest series of the sci-fi drama drew to a spectacular conclusion last night, a BBC source revealed
that the popular Scottish actor would remain at the controls of the Tardis at least until the end of next year.
The
source said: “David has definitely signed to play Doctor Who in three specials which will be shown next year. There
will also be a Christmas special this year.
“The next full series of Doctor Who will be shown in 2010.”
Millions
tuned in to BBC1 for last night’s finale after the penultimate show ended on a cliffhanger which saw the Doctor shot
by a Dalek and apparently starting the process of regeneration.
Writer and executive producer Russell T Davies swore cast
and crew to secrecy so the ending was kept confidential.
Davies announced in May that Bafta-winning writer Steven Moffat
would take over from him as lead writer and executive producer from 2010.
Davies, 45, who has been at the helm since
the show came back on air in 2005 following a nine-year absence from TV, admitted that he found it frustrating that people
constantly tried to reveal the show’s secrets.
He said: “There are some people who like spoilers and they spoil it for themselves and they like
spoiling it for themselves.
“It’s when they then promote it on to a bigger scale and they push these spoilers
into the tabloids so the general public gets to hear I think it’s a real shame and I think it undermines all storytelling.”
Tennant,
37, voted by Radio Times readers as the “coolest person on TV”, became the 10th actor to play the Time Lord when
he took over from Christopher Eccleston in 2005.
Already a well-known theatre actor, he found wider fame in 2005 in
the lead role in BBC1’s Casanova as well as playing Barty Crouch Jr in Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire. Tennant
said being cast as the time-traveller fulfilled a childhood dream.
“Who wouldn’t want to be the Doctor?”
he said. “I’ve even got my own Tardis!”
Rumours that Tennant might be leaving the series were sparked
by the surprise regeneration of the Doctor at the end of the episode The Stolen Earth but neither he nor the BBC would comment.
Now
it appears Tennant is certain to remain as the Time Lord until 2010 – although there is speculation that Moffat might
want a completely new start when he takes over from Davies – which would mean an 11th Doctor.
Since its revival,
Doctor Who has already gone through several assistants. Billie Piper was the first as Rose Tyler, before leaving in 2006 to
be replaced by newcomer Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones.
The comedian Catherine Tate also played a side-kick, Donna
Noble, in a number of episodes.
TIME LORDS THROUGH THE
AGES
Doctor Who is the longest-running TV science fiction show in the world. Part of its longevity is no doubt
down to the fact that the Doctor can regenerate himself if he is facing death.
David Tennant’s character is
the 10th such regeneration. His predecessors were:
William Hartnell (1963–1966)
Patrick Troughton (1966–1969)
Jon
Pertwee (1970–1974)
Tom Baker (1974–1981)
Peter Davison (1981–1984)
Colin Baker (1984–1986)
Sylvester
McCoy (1987–1989,1996)
Paul McGann (1996)
Christopher Eccleston (2005)
Source: Sunday Express 6th July 2008
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