Doctor Who favourite David Tennant returns as 14th incarnation of Time Lord

Bathgate-born actor makes surprise reappearance

Doctor Who fans got a surprise in Jodie Whittaker's finale as the 13th Time Lord when she regenerated into David Tennant instead of her expected successor Ncuti Gatwa.

Following Sunday's 90-minute special, the BBC confirmed that Bathagte-born Tennant, who played The Doctor between 2005 and 2010, will become the 14th incarnation with Catherine Tate reprising her role as his former companion Donna Noble for three special episodes set to air in November 2023. Edinburgh actor Ncuti Gatwa will then take control of the Tardis as the 15th Doctor, with his first episode due to air over the festive period in 2023.

Tennant, 51, said: "What a lovely, lovely thing to get to revisit something that was such a wonderful, happy, significant time in my life."

Returning showrunner Russell T Davies, said: "If you thought the appearance of David Tennant was a shock, we've got plenty more surprises on the way. The path to Ncuti's 15th Doctor is laden with mystery, horror, robots, puppets, danger and fun.”

Whittaker, 40, became the first woman to portray the Doctor when she took over the role from Peter Capaldi in 2017. Her last venture as the Doctor was loaded with drama as it saw her fight for her existence against some of her deadliest enemies: The Master, the Daleks and the Cybermen. The episode, titled The Power Of The Doctor, also saw the surprise return of actors who have played Time Lords from the ages including Colin Baker, Peter Davison, Paul McGann and Sylvester McCoy.

Tennant’s return to the role comes as a poll conducted last month found he was still the nation's favourite Doctor Who actor, despite having been gone from the series for over a decade. The survey of 2,000 people across Britain ranked Tennant top as the favourite of 21 per cent of those responding, with Christopher Eccleston second on 14 per cent and Matt Smith third with 12 per cent, followed by Peter Capaldi on 11 per cent and Jodie Whittaker on seven per cent.

It was announced earlier this year that Tennant had been filming scenes for the sci-fi drama's 60th anniversary, but now it is clear that it is much more than a brief cameo appearance.