Who Is Christopher Eccleston?

 

Who is new doctor?

Eccleston will become the ninth Doctor Who The new Doctor Who will bring stage and screen pedigree to the time travelling Tardis. British-born Christopher Eccleston, 40, shot to fame in Let Him Have It as Derek Bentley, who was wrongly hanged in the 1950s for murder. He will be the ninth Time Lord to take to the Tardis when the cult sci-fi series returns to television screens in 2005. Time-honoured Eccleston is now a respected film actor, starring in the highly successful Shallow Grave, in Elizabeth with Cate Blanchett, and in Jude opposite Kate Winslet. Eccleston is an accomplished film actor He also starred in David Cronenberg's eXistenZ with Jude Law, The Others with Nicole Kidman and Gone in Sixty Seconds with Nicolas Cage, as well as TV dramas Our Friends in the North, Hearts and Minds and Linda Green. He appeared in The League of Gentleman, Flesh and Blood, part of BBC Two's disability season, and the ITV crime drama, Cracker. Eccleston's character in Cracker was murdered by a psychopath (played by Trainspotting's Robert Carlyle), who held the police to blame for the tragedy at the Hillsborough football ground. Eccleston went on to appear in the TV drama Hillsborough, which was about the inquest into the tragedy.  What a stupendous choice! This talented actor lends himself is well suited for this particular role. Ray Khan, Canada Fans back Eccleston On stage he starred in Miss Julie at London's Haymarket Theatre in 2000. He trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, but often returns to his hometown of Salford where he is a patron of the arts. Doctor Who's executive producer and writer Russell T Davies said he was looking forward to working with Eccleston immensely. "It signals our intention to take Doctor Who into the 21st Century, while remaining edgy and eccentric," he said. The new 13-part series will be filmed in Cardiff later this year. E-mail this to a friend Printable version

Doctor Who fans endorse Eccleston

Hundreds of Doctor Who fans have given overwhelming support to Christopher Eccleston taking the lead role in the show's new series.

BBC News Online readers throughout the world endorsed the decision to cast the 40-year-old actor in the 2005 series.

"A fine choice demonstrating the desire to bring some of the 'edge' back to the Doctor Who genre," said Mark Lee from Muscat, Oman, in a typical comment.

Eccleston will be the ninth TV Time Lord to control the Tardis.

He starred in films The Others, 28 Days Later and Shallow Grave and TV series Our Friends in the North, Cracker, The Second Coming and The League of Gentleman.

Darkness

"Great choice. Outstanding actor, he was creepily great in 28 Days Later," said S Jackson from Liverpool.

"Chris is a very versatile and until now cruelly-underrated actor," added Edith Hall from Rotterdam. "Can't wait to see him confronting some Daleks."

"Christoper Eccleston will bring back the gritty, hard-edged darkness that it had with Tom Baker and Jon Pertwee," said John Smith from Manchester.

Fans did not limit their support to Eccleston's acting ability, however.

There would have been nothing worse than seeing a very well-known face taking on the role Mark Jones, Chipping Campden Read more of your views

"He's the most interesting looking Doctor since Tom Baker," said Charles Gascoigne from Canberra, Australia.

"Weh-hey! A Doctor Who with sex appeal. I'll be watching!" added Sandi Chaitram from London.

Richard from Pavia, Italy, drew parallels with another long-running sci-fi series. "Doctor Who is not that dissimilar to Star Trek in that many aspects of it were laughable," he said.

"However, Eccleston is likely to do something interesting in the role, which will hopefully result in something similar to the injection of credibility that Patrick Stewart provided for the Next Generation."

Grit

While it was speculated that actors Bill Nighy, Richard E Grant and Anthony Head, and comics Eddie Izzard and Alan Davies might be offered the part, the casting of Eccleston caught many by surprise.

"Never heard of him - and that is exactly what was needed," said Mark Jones from Chipping Campden.

"The Doctor is a mysterious, alien character after all, and there would have been nothing worse than seeing a very well-known face taking on the role."

I've hated him in anything I've seen him in Phil Picardi, Vladitru, Romania

"I have only seen Christopher Eccleston play gritty hard roles and am concerned that he won't have that underlying eccentricity that is much needed for the role," admitted Ben Ripleu from Melbourne, Australia. "However, just because I haven't seen him do anything like this before, doesn't mean that he can't."

While the majority of Doctor Who fans welcomed the news, not all were convinced.

"I can't believe this appalling decision. Christopher Eccleston has to be the worst actor of all time," said Dave Mahoney from Strood, Kent.

Phil Picardi from Vladitru, Romania, added: "I've hated him in anything I've seen him in. He smells of Generation X apathy. I can't think of anyone worse."

A less serious complaint came from John Kantor, from St Petersburg, Florida: "But how could they pass on Eddie Izzard? I was looking forward to the outfits!"

Steve Meirowsky, from San Dimas, California, concluded: "It doesn't really matter who they pick, it just matters how well the person makes us believe that he is Doctor Who. Time will tell!"

Christopher Eccleston to play Doctor Who

 note: this is text from the BBC press office article.

Acclaimed British actor Christopher Eccleston is to play Doctor Who in the forthcoming 13-part drama series for BBC ONE, it was announced by Jane Tranter, BBC Controller of Drama Commissioning.

Eccleston, star of Flesh & Blood and The Second Coming, will take Doctor Who into the 21st century – travelling through time and space, fighting monsters on all fronts, in a fresh and modern approach to the popular science fiction series.

 

He said: "I am absolutely delighted to be playing Doctor Who.

 

"I am looking forward to joining forces again with the incredible writer Russell T Davies and taking both loyal viewers and a new generation on a journey through time and space – which way is the Tardis? I can't wait to get started!"

 

Jane Tranter says: “We are delighted to have cast an actor of such calibre in one of British television's most iconic roles.

 

"It signals our intention to take Doctor Who into the 21st century, as well as retaining its core traditional values - to be surprising, edgy and eccentric.

 

"We have chosen one of Britain's finest actors to play what, in effect, will be an overtly modern hero."

Executive producer/writer Russell T Davies adds: "We considered many great actors for this wonderful part, but Christopher was our first choice.

 

"This man can give the Doctor a wisdom, wit and emotional range as far-reaching as the Doctor's travels in time and space.

 

"His casting raises the bar for all of us. It's going to be a magnificent, epic, entertaining journey, and I can't wait to start!"

 

Filming in Cardiff later this year for transmission in 2005, Doctor Who is produced by Phil Collinson.

 

The writers are Russell T Davies, Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, Paul Cornell and Robert Shearman.

 

Executive producers are BBC Controller of Continuing Drama Series, Mal Young; Head of Drama, BBC Wales, Julie Gardner and Russell T Davies.