David Tennant recalls origins of the Tenth Doctor and early “scrutiny” 20 years after Doctor Who debut

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It’s amazing to think it’s been two decades since David Tennant first became a fan favorite as the Doctor! He debuted in the Christmas special, “The Christmas Invasion,” which originally aired on Christmas Day in 2005.

To mark the occasion, Tennant appeared on a special episode of the Whoniverse Show to discuss the episode and share his experiences filming his first complete story as the Tenth Doctor.

Tennant recalled people often asking him about the process of developing his Doctor, specifically how he decided on the character’s personality and speech. He said they wonder if he and Russell T Davies had extensive discussions and spent nights analyzing the character’s choices.

Honestly, it wasn’t a difficult decision at all. It just felt right. It wasn’t like we needed to debate it or anything. I mean, I’ve practically grown up watching Doctor Who, and from what I understand, so has Russell. We just seemed to be on the same page from the start.

Tennant explained that the writing was so clear, he immediately grasped the author’s intent. He felt it didn’t require any deep analysis – the quality of the writing simply spoke for itself, and he never found it confusing.

I remember when David Tennant first really caught my attention – it was in the BBC drama Casanova back in 2005. He was fantastic as the young Giacomo, and it felt like a real turning point in his career. It wasn’t long after that that Russell T Davies, who had worked with him on Casanova, gave him the role that would truly make him a star – the Doctor! It was clear even then that Davies knew talent when he saw it.

Later in the show, Davies also reminisced about working on Casanova, sharing that they spent a lot of time discussing Doctor Who.

He recalled a moment with three doctors appearing on screen, saying they all reacted with surprise, exclaiming ‘three doctors!’. He explained he was showing someone photos of everything happening while filming ‘Doctor Who’.

In ‘The Christmas Invasion,’ we see David Tennant’s first full episode as the Doctor after his regeneration. He’s forced to rely on Rose, Mickey, and Jackie to defend Earth from an alien invasion by the Sycorax on Christmas Eve.

This episode was a huge hit and started the popular tradition of Doctor Who Christmas specials. It’s still a fan favorite, remembered for its menacing Christmas trees and exciting sword fight.

I wanted to be on TV on Christmas Day. Back then, families would get a TV guide called the TopMob and circle the shows they planned to watch together. It really felt like everyone was watching Doctor Who as a family at that time.

It was definitely a special experience being in Scotland. Having to watch everything unfold with my family was both incredibly exciting and deeply upsetting at the same time.

Doctor Who is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Don’t forget to add Doctor Who to your watchlist on the TopMob: What to Watch app! Download it today for daily TV suggestions, articles, and more.

Authors

Nicola AustinFreelance Writer

Nicola Austin is a freelance journalist with a passion for science fiction, fantasy, and animation. She’s written for many publications like Empire, Digital Spy, and SciFiNow, and firmly believes that The Mummy is a classic film from the 1990s.

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2025-12-19 15:38