Eccleston Didn’t Enjoy Working on Doctor Who

Christopher Eccleston talks about why he quit playing the Doctor after only a single season.

Playing the titular Time Lord in Doctor Who may seem like the best part in the world. Getting the chance to battle monsters and travel through time and space sounds like a pretty good way to make a living. But according to Christopher Eccleston, who played the ninth Doctor when the series rebooted in 2005, the truth is far from the fantasy.

Speaking to the Radio Times, Eccleston said that he didn’t like the working conditions on set, which is what prompted him to leave. “I was open-minded but I decided after my experience on the first series that I didn’t want to do any more,” he said. “I didn’t enjoy the environment and the culture that we, the cast and crew, had to work in … I thought if I stay in this job, I’m going to have to blind myself to certain things that I thought were wrong.”

But Eccleston is quick to add that he doesn’t want his departure from the show to be the focus. Instead, he feels that the fact he played Doctor was the most important thing. “I really feel that because it kind of broke the mould and it helped to reinvent it …I’m very proud of it.”

Source: BBC