The True Story Behind Christopher Eccleston's Doctor Who Exit
6. Eccleston Embarks On The Promotion Trail
In the run-up to Doctor Who's premiere on 26 March 2005, Christopher Eccleston embarked on the promotional trail for the new series. The return of Doctor Who was a big deal, there were billboards, specially shot trailers, and teasers. Eccleston and Piper were front and centre in all of this promotion. On top of this, there were also media appearances on some stalwart British shows.
Eccleston sat on the Blue Peter sofa to talk about how he felt about taking on such an iconic role, stating:
"I was very excited [...] I felt ready to take on something with that sort of responsibility [...] because the scripts are that strong..."
He also appeared on a special Doctor Who-themed episode of Mastermind to present the winner with the trophy. On being introduced by host John Humphries as Doctor Who, Eccleston off-handedly quips "Well, for now." For Canadian viewers, Eccleston also filmed special intros for each episode of the series.
Throughout these appearances, he's effusive about what drew him to the role, the scripts, the monsters and the importance of the Doctor. What nobody knew at this point however, was that Eccleston had already filmed his final scene as the Doctor.