this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2025
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He played a character on a TV show 20 years ago. That doesn't in any way obligate him to "show up as the Doctor" for fan events, nor does it indicate his "dislike for the show".
There is certainly a twat at play here, but it isn't Eccleston.
He also has done a bunch of conventions and returned to play the Doctor for Big Finish multiple times lol.
As far as I can tell he has no problem with the role or the fans, he just has a beef withe the BBC/Russell T. Davies over how he was treated.
Exactly. How he was treated by the producers and showrunner back when he played the part, and by some entitled fans who seem to think they somehow still have a perpetual lease on him and his time twenty years later.
He was like that even while playing the role, he's been a twat for all 20 of those years. He refused to take part in the anniversary specials, he was a dickhead when he was on set according to people who worked with him. He's always been a prick of an actor.
He grew incredibly disillusioned with the people running Dr Who at the time. Despite repeated attempts on his part to get people to treat others better, things never changed according to him. He also had a very poor working relationship with John Barrowman, who was repeatedly accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour (eg exposing himself to his co-stars unprompted, supposedly as a joke). Noel Clarke has also been accused of inappropriate behaviour.
Eccleston did not want to work for people who in his view were responsible for the mistreatment of his colleagues on set. He was open to returning to the role, but never with those same people still in charge.
On top of all that, he initially just shut his mouth when he left, not naming names. Then the BBC published a statement saying he was "overwhelmed by the tv shooting schedule" and that he was tired, which is killing for an actor's career. He had a tough time getting roles after that, and basically was forced to work for American producers because nobody in the UK would touch him.
Tennant mentioned that though their interaction was brief, Eccleston was very amicable towards him when Tennant took over.
Eccleston can be petty, but it doesn't seem like he ever was towards someone who didn't deserve it. And given how the BBC and the producers mistreated him, he's been shockingly fair imo.
You'll find the general opinion of Eccleston runs contrary to yours, and manages to do so without the pottymouth.
Oh no, not pottymouth on the internet...
Grow up.