They must have known it would have been a success. The fans deff knew it would succeed and if it would have only done one series it would have been silly to do a regeneration.

Chris can say he regrets all he wants because there is a difference between saying it and actually doing it.

Nonsense. Of course they didn't know it would be a success. Neither did the fans. You're looking back with the benefit of hindsight. In 2004-05, the show had been off our screens for 16 years, barring the critically panned TV movie. Why would anyone have assumed that it would succeed?

Had a quick google (my memory isn't what it was!) to remind me, and basically we had the screening of 'Rose', the excellent overnights, the 'leak' that Chris was off and the announcement that there would be a second series all in about 5 days! It was all happening...

RTD had the "jitters" and the undervalued (for her part in the return) Jane Tranter was hoping for 8ish million but thinking it might be nearer 4.So considering the cost and the massive hype, it wasn't a 'done deal'.

Why must they?

Fan was not sure at all it was going to be a success. Even if the "fans" was sure it was going to be a success (and again they was not) the fans was never going to be enough to make it a success

A actor like Eccleston is more then likely not going to sign a long term contract for a show and combine that with it being a massive risk long term contracts would have been not even on the table.

Doctor Who was still considered naff before it was announced it was coming back. It was seen as a cult show and no longer considered a prime time show. It was a huge gamble for it to return. It took a lot of persuading for the BBC executives to agree to bring it back. It could easily have flopped. I think the BBC were very suprised it got such high ratings for 'Rose'.

That's probably why Eccleston was only contracted to do one series.

I don't think most people believed the revival would last more than a few years to be honest. If you said back then it would still be around in 2016, people would have thought your expectations were way too unrealistic.

Is it still around in 2016, I haven't seen it?

But seriously, I remember discussing this with a friend at work in 2003 when the revival was announced and we said that at least there would be 13 new episodes of Who. No one was confident (although hopeful) that it would be a success.

When you think of it, to hype it the way they did and to place it in prime time on a Saturday night suggests they were confident of the show lasting - not necessarily getting the ratings it got but they were confident enough the show would find an audience.

Eccleston said in interview that he would be using whatever voice/accent he used for "years" and at least one writer marvelled at how RTD was planning for the long-term with his story thoughts. Barring an unmitigated ratings disaster it was very likely going to continue.

Exactly. He's saying he would have stayed (were things better at the BBC) but they weren't and it's a shame. He disagreed with half the working practices that went on and it sounds like it was all a bit of a nightmare.

All I know is that this isn't the first time I've heard this from people who worked on the show back then.

To be fair, receiving scripts for the Aliens of London two parter wouldn't have filled him with much confidence. Those episodes stink of a lack of prepared ideas, an actual plan for the whole season and frankly were just filler which for a show in it's debut season, is pretty piss poor!

Plus the fact they commissioned it for the following Christmas Special and Series 2 after like what the first or second episode if my memory is right?

Lord knows what went through peoples' minds when they kept reading the fart jokes throughout the script. Even as a kid I just sat there awkwardly thinking "This isn't funny" while my parents were bewildered and a little heartbroken at watching their favourite childhood show suddenly become so puerile.

We British are usually known for having a somewhat wittier sense of humour than that.

I could have told him this when he resigned.

Playing a doctor is the best. We still got McCann, Colin and Sylv thoroughly enjoying it and it's thirty years since they aired

Get off your high horse and enjoy it. You are only the doctor once

Oh, I don't know. The Carry On films were hardly high-brow but are still considered British cinema classics (and are very funny). Personally there are few things that make me laugh as much as a fart.

The original plan was actually to do 2 series' of 6/7 episodes, which was what everyone signed up for until that was changed to 1 series of 13. (I seem to remember that info being revealed somewhere, maybe by RTD? so I hope I'm not just making it up....xD) It's a major reason why episodes like The Long Game and Boom Town were pulled out of thin air, and Aliens of London, The Empty Child and the finale were expanded into 2 parters.

I think the BBC were fully committed to it continuing. Eccleston's casting was something which shook people's perceptions of what to expect because at the time people like Paul Daniels and Michael Fish were being bandied about. When Eccles was cast it was clearly setting a different tone.

I think the idea was simply get someone solid in at the start to hook viewers and then recast if they don't stay - which is why people like Hugh Grant were under consideration.

Genuinely?? People really believed they would cast a non-actor in the part? I never realised the show had gained such a bad image...

Oh come on the fans would have battered this to get another series. Look how supportive they are of BF and the magazines.

These were names being bandied around in the press so yes, given most laypeople won't really have thought about who'd have been cast they could have been forgiven for believing this was the calibre of person they were going for. But then Pertwee was more of a comedic performer than an actor so there was a precedent for this.

It was just the notion that the Doctor was a sort of eccentric uncle type so names which typified that were thrown into the ring.

Eccleston, I would argue, wasn't famous - he was one of those faces a lot of people would recognise but I wouldn't have considered him a household name. However, those who did know him knew his body of work was pretty serious stuff and I think that casting him sent a clear message, certainly withing the showbiz industry, this was not going to be the avuncular eccentric of times past and the rest of the show would have more gravitas as a result.

And then we got burping bins and farting aliens...

Eccleston's casting was a genius move it showed everyone how they should be viewing the programme and I think it was fundamental in the nation taking it seriously. His Doctor was what was needed and totally brilliant. I was really said when he left after one serious but I thank him for what he did.

I don't think Tennant would have had the reaction he did if the role hadn't been warmed up by Eccleston first (in fact DT pretty much admitted he felt confident in taking it because of CE).

I still would have loved a 2nd series with the 9th Doctor though.

I sympathise with him leaving the role, the atmosphere on set didn't sound nice and RTD pretty much procrastinated on all the scripts.

Executive Producers will always damage shows just to get what they want.