Doctor Who: 20 Things You Didn't Know About The Ninth Doctor

11. Eccleston Based His Performance On Russell T Davies

Doctor Who the Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston
BBC Studios

Actors can find inspiration in the unlikeliest of places, and that definitely holds true when talking about Eccleston's portrayal of the Ninth Doctor.

In 2019, Eccleston revealed that he based his performance as the Time Lord on none other than Russell T Davies, Doctor Who's showrunner from 2005 - 2010.

On top of responding well to Davies' writing, Eccleston said that he took the "inner pace" of the Ninth Doctor from Davies, and he also found it interesting how the writer and the character both had an affinity for leather jackets:

“I based my Doctor on Russell T Davies... he said 'the Doctor wears a leather jacket.' And I remember thinking… 'Russell, YOU wear a leather jacket.'"

Considering how energetic and eccentric Davies seems to be, he would probably make a great Doctor in his own right. #RussellFor14.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.