10 Things That Must NEVER Happen In Doctor Who

In an interview with Variety during San Diego Comic-Con 2024, Russell T Davies broached the subject of bringing back the classic Doctors via CGI. Disney has form in this department, having used CGI to de-age or resurrect actors like Carrie Fisher and Peter Cushing in the Star Wars franchise.

Could they do something similar to resurrect William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton, so Ncuti Gatwa can meet the First and Second Doctors? And if they could, does that mean that they should?

Aside from the huge ethical issues involved, there's the cold hard fact that it never looks good. Peter Cushing in Rogue One was convincing enough until he had to talk or move – which are both quite important factors in one of those talking picture shows. If a billion-dollar franchise like Star Wars can't do it convincingly, what chance does Doctor Who have?

None of us need to see janky, twitchy CGI zombie Doctors brought back from the dead for an episode of a TV show. It's disrespectful and more than a little creepy. We also do not need AI to recreate the voices or performances of deceased Doctor actors – though scarily, you have to imagine we're not too far off that being achievable.

If old Doctors are to return, then do it the right way. We've got the likes of David Bradley and Sean Pertwee who can ably portray the First and Third Doctors, while respecting the legacies of William Hartnell and Jon Pertwee.