14 Tales From The History Of Doctor Who From William Hartnell To Jodie Whittaker
6. The War Doctor Stepped Into Viewers' Hearts For The 50th
The ending of The Name of the Doctor blew viewers' minds when the shadowy figure in The Doctor's timestream turns around...to reveal Sir John Hurt was playing The Doctor!
He had been announced as cast in special 50th episode The Day of the Doctor, though his role had been kept under wraps. With this reveal, the internet started to buzz about what this actually meant. Who was he really? Which version of The Doctor was he going to be? Long before Ruth and the Timeless Children, the numbering just didn't add up.
The creation of the role was, in part, a brilliant strategy devised by Stephen Moffat to work around Christopher Eccleston's refusal to return for the special. While Eccleston's Nine was missed by audiences, the chance to see John Hurt on-screen was simply too good to pass.
Along with Matt Smith and David Tennant, he is the main focus of the anniversary story - one which also features not just the preceding Doctors but also, for the first time in Doctor Who history, a future incarnation as well.
Hurt's name had, at one point, been attached to the Eighth Doctor, though in the War Doctor, he gave the battle-hardened Time Lord a new voice.