10 Doctor Who Moments More Important Than You Realised

10. Christopher Eccleston’s Own Father’s Day

As he’s reiterated many times, Christopher Eccleston didn’t have the happiest time shooting Series 1.

But beyond his own struggles and his deteriorating relationship with the higher-ups, there was something else he had to contend with – his seriously ill father, Ronnie, which forced Eccleston to leave Doctor Who for three weeks to go and care for him.

And it just so happened that Eccleston's three week break – and subsequent return – coincided with the episode Father’s Day.

For obvious reasons, there was an added resonance when it came to Eccleston filming his scenes for this episode. At New York Comic-Con in 2019, he described Father's Day (11:43 in the video below) as one of his favourite episodes to shoot, saying:

"To come back and to be shooting Father's Day which was all about Rose's desire to meet her father was very emotional. I enjoyed that one, it resonated with me... it's an issue that I've come back to, fathers and sons."

Though the Doctor’s role in the story is quite small, there was an emergency alternate script prepared in case Eccleston needed more time off. This would've taken the Doctor out of the action sooner, reducing his role to that of a disembodied voice.

Father’s Day is astonishing in its own right, but this real-life parallel makes it even more special. And Eccleston often cites it as his favourite story, so the connection clearly isn’t lost on him either.