After he left Doctor Who in 2005 , Christopher Eccleston spent years remaining mute about just why he ’d departed the serial almost as quickly as it had returned to proclaim acclaim . In recent days he ’s startedbeing more openabout his fourth dimension on the show — but today at New York Comic Con he spoke plain about why he lead Who , and has yet to return .

Speaking in one of his few conventionality visual aspect since his time on   Doctor Who — amessily - announce departureafter just a individual sequence of the first season had aired , which involved the BBC forge a assertion from Eccleston it hadto by and by draw back — at the Javits Center today , Eccleston discussed a cooking stove of topics , fromthe traumatic struggleswith genial wellness he of late revealed in his autobiography to hisless - than - optimaltime in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Thor : The Dark World ’s villainous Malekith . But it was about why he leave the show and a character he have intercourse playing , and why he did not yield for its 50th anniversary special “ The Day of the Doctor , ” where Eccleston was the frankest .

https://gizmodo.com/a-history-of-doctor-whos-weird-wonderful-and-very-awk-1797433980

The trials of a Time Lord.

The trials of a Time Lord.Photo: BBC

According toThe Independent , Eccleston alleged that his exit from Doctor Who stick with a complete breakdown in his working family relationship with “ three someone and the way they were running the show”—presumably showrunner Russell T. Davies , and executive producers Julie Gardner and Phil Collinson :

I leave only because of those three individuals and the way they were running the show . I loved playing the fictional character . I felt I was pass to playact the Doctor my way and I was n’t going to get take with those politics and that was n’t workable , so off I went . I became the invisible human being .

Eccleston went on to allege that his exit from Doctor Who lead to him being blacklist for playing jobs in the UK , precede to the role player take theatrical role in the U.S. likehis brief stinton Heroes . As to whyhe twist downSteven Moffat ’s offer for him to rejoin — despite also praise Moffat ’s committal to writing for his Doctor in “ The Empty Child ” and “ The Doctor Dances”—alongside Matt Smith and David Tennant for “ The Day of the Doctor , ” Eccleston submit that it was because of the narration in the scripthe was yield , combined with the lingering government that led to his release in the first seat :

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

When I read it , I felt that it was basically myself , Matt and Dave riffing off the fact that we used to be the Dr. . I personally did n’t finger like the narrative was strong enough , peculiarly for the Ninth Doctor because I ’d take quite a lot of abuse in my own country when I left .

As the show was being celebrated I was being abused in the press and that was hard to take and very perplexing . So I looked at it and I thought is this really the way of life I require to come back and I decided it was n’t . There were other factors , political factors .

Moffat has alike been open about the rocky path the highly anticipate 50th day of remembrance special   adopt to completion , a process that figure several scripts — include one that , polemically , did n’t have any embodiment of the Doctor in it at all — drafted as actors , Eccleston included , tried to decide if they ’d be postulate or not .

William Duplessie

But for all his candid lecture of the literal reasons he ultimately put the show behind him , Eccleston has made it clear that he still has a beloved for both his Doctor and the fans who support his take on the state of war - marred Time Lord . His show at NYCC this year , and theupcoming Gallifrey One convention , are some of his first attempts to eventually turn over out to those buff after years of avoiding conventions touch on to Who , mostly thanks to the political relation of his expiration . As sour as his depature was , it ’s dainty to see that there are at least some positives he can now take from his time in the TARDIS .

For more , make certain you ’re following us on our Instagram @io9dotcom .

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