After his big exit in 2023, David Tennant is all but done with Doctor Who – but Whovians are still ‘99% sure’ he’ll be returning to the series in 2026.
The Scottish actor, 54, played the Tenth Doctor between 2005 and 2010 and then returned as the Fourteenth Doctor for a run of special episodes in 2023.
After his most recent appearance, which saw him hand the reins over to Ncuti Gatwa, many Whovians thought they’d seen the last of their TV favourite.
However, at the end of the most recent Doctor Who episode, Ncuti’s Fifteenth Doctor regenerated into Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler – Rose was the companion to David’s Tenth Doctor for a time.
Naturally, this got fans’ brains whirring, and now a new video published by the official Doctor Who account on X has the ‘99% sure’ that he might come back to the series yet again.
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It was revealed on Thursday that David would be sitting down for an episode of The Whoniverse Show to discuss the 20th anniversary of his joining the show for the first time.
Whovians don’t need much of an invitation to begin speculating on the future of their favourite show, and this recent appearance from David has given them all the material they need.
On X, user @_uhhhhhhh said: ‘He’s been getting so much attention on the YouTube channel, and now this? 100% the Fourteenth Doctor is coming back for the Xmas special.’
@TheCyberdevil added: ‘I don’t think they paid David Tennant to come into a specially dressed studio just record five minutes of Christmas Invasion reminiscing for the Whoniverse show.’
What does Metro's Doctor Who expert make of these rumours?
Asyia Iftikhar says: ‘Look, I love David Tennant as much as the next Whovian, but after making a big song and dance of closing his chapter with the 60th anniversary special, it would feel surface-level and slightly desperate to bring him back yet again for the 2026 Christmas special.
I can see the logic of it. If Billie Piper really does return as the Doctor, then in some ways it would make sense to manufacture a meeting between her and 14, given the nostalgia of it all.
But it’s 2026, not 2006. After attempting to do a hard reset with Disney with Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor, the show needs to fully commit to moving on so it can bring in fresh audiences and gain a new lease of life instead of relying on the ‘good ol’ times’ as a crutch.
Both David and Russell have said in the past that he won’t make another return, so I can only hope they stick to their word and leave the past in the past.’
@Why_of_Who was 1% less sure than other fans: ‘I’m 99% sure Tennant is coming back next year, but if any New Who Doctor actor was gonna do this kind of video for free, it’s Tennant.’
@Chuchitzu tried to remain calm: ‘David’s been a Whovian since he was a little child. I really think he would say yes in a heartbeat to anything regarding Doctor Who. I do think he’s coming back again, though.’
It has been confirmed that Doctor Who will return for a Christmas special in 2026, and it’s incredibly likely that Billie Piper will be involved, but there’s no word yet on whether David will be joining her.
Whether David will make any future appearances in Doctor Who is obviously not yet confirmed, but an old appearance of his may finally be available to the public soon.
Do you want to see David Tennant come back to Doctor Who?
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Yes - he's a familiar face we'll always love
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No - it's time for somebody new
An unreleased Doctor Who episode from the 2000s, titled The Suicide Exhibition, may be released in audio format 17 years after being shelved.
The scrapped episode had been penned for David Tennant’s run as the Tenth Doctor, but was replaced by classic Whovian episode The Fires of Pompeii.
The episode was intended for the 2008 series, with Gatiss previously saying that it had been ‘on the verge of production for a while’. Now, it could finally make its way to the avid Whovians in audio form.
When asked about the episode by the Radio Times, Gatiss confirmed he still has a copy of the script, adding: ‘It’s rather good, I think. Big Finish has expressed an interest. It’s all gone very quiet, though. I’m waiting for that emergency phone call!’
Metro has reached out to David Tennant and the BBC for more information.
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