Why Every Lead Actor Left Doctor Who
5. Christopher Eccleston
Though precise details are scarce, Christopher Eccleston did not have the best of times shooting his first and only series of Doctor Who.
Production on block one – comprising Rose, Aliens of London, and World War Three – was reportedly chaotic, not least because it fell behind schedule.
This tallies with comments Eccleston has made in the years since, where he's explained that poor management on the part of the showrunners was the main catalyst for his decision to exit after just 13 episodes:
“I left because my relationship with the showrunner and the producer broke down. [I left because of] the politics of the show. I left only because of those three individuals and the way they were running the show.”
It's unclear how bad things got at the time, but Eccleston's recent statement that the only way he'd consider returning to Doctor Who was if current producers Russell T Davies, Jane Tranter, Phil Collinson, and Julie Gardner were sacked is damning, considering those four were in charge back in 2005.
On a more positive note, Eccleston loves playing the Doctor, and has shown a great willingness to engage with fans on the convention circuit. He also returned to voice the Ninth Doctor on audio from 2021 onwards.