8 Actors Who Regretted Quitting Popular TV Shows

8. Christopher Eccleston - Doctor Who

When Doctor Who restarted back in 2005, it was already announced that its titular star - Christopher Eccleston - would only be in the role for a single season.

Considering the Doctor is one of the most coveted roles in British TV history and actors have gone as long as 7 seasons on the show, this came as quite the surprise. To this day, Eccleston is the only actor to hand in his sonic screwdriver after only one season (discounting Paul McGann), and the reasons behind his regretful departure were kept secret for a long time.

Back in 2005, less than a week after the series premiere, the BBC released a statement that Eccleston had left the role out of fear of being typecast, insinuating an individual and egotistical reason as the sole culprit. However, it's only in the last couple of years that Eccleston has revealed what truly happened behind the scenes, citing a falling out with the senior creative team - including then showrunner Russell T Davies - as his reason for leaving.

Eccleston told Radio Times that their relationship broke down early in the filming process and "never recovered", leading to a fractured sense of trust between the collaborators. He expressed his regret at leaving so soon in 2016, stating: "it was kind of tragic for me, that I didn’t play him for longer. He’s a beautiful character and I have a great deal of professional pride and had I done a second season, there would have been a marked improvement in my performance."