Russell T Davies sheds a light on how David Tennant became involved in Doctor Who, and how one element of the Tenth Doctor was essential in securing his involvement. Tennant picked up the role of the Time Lord from Christopher Eccleston in the final moments of 2005’s season 1, and would lead the series as the Tenth Doctor until 2009’s “The End of Time”. Not only would he reprise his role of the Tenth Doctor in a guest role for the 50th Anniversary, but Tennant would lead Doctor Who‘s 60th Anniversary as the Fourteenth Doctor.
As Tennant reunited with Doctor Who‘s current showrunner Davies for the latest episode of his David Tennant Does A Podcast With…. podcast (later reported on by ComicBook.com), the pair looked back to his initial casting as the Tenth Doctor. As Davies and producer Julie Gardner invited Tennant to a dinner party in hopes of gauging his interest in taking on the role, the actor had the request to have a long coat in order to ensure his involvement and begin a collaboration both he and Davies have fond memories of. Check out Davies’ response below:
That was the night to find out if you’d be interested. That’s the only reason you came out. There was a pause, and you said, “I want a coat down to there”. And I was like, “we got it”…. I remember midway through your run, sitting in Cardiff Bay one day having a coffee, and I think it was a Saturday, and you ran through Cardiff Bay — you must have needed milk from the Tesco — with your baseball cap down. You were like a hunted ferret, and you scampered through keeping your head down. I thought, “I did that to him”.
What Tennant’s Costume Demand Reveals About The Creation Of The Tenth Doctor’s Look
The Actor’s Fan Insight Helped Influence His Outfit
For Tennant, it is well-documented that his casting in Doctor Who helped fulfill a goal from his childhood that helped inspire his interest in acting. A dedicated fan throughout the classic series, the actor has recollected how he told his parents as a child how he wanted to step into the profession specifically because of the show. As such, the actor brought much of his insight as a viewer into crafting his costume.
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With his long duster coat, Tennant has attributed his desire to have it as part of his ensemble out of an acting choice. In his tenure as the Time Lord, the Tenth Doctor found himself often standing casually with his hands in his pockets as part of a laid-back front, while also finding himself retrieving gadgets and props from them due to them being “bigger on the inside“, something that the actor named “pocket-acting” that helped show the Tenth Doctor’s personality and ingenuity. Similarly, the Tenth Doctor’s trademark Converse were Tennant’s hard-fought-for idea to ease fans’ efforts at crafting cosplays.
Our Take On David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor Costume
The Ensemble Is A Fan-Favorite To This Day
While Tennant’s costume may be largely composed of a suit at its base, it has nevertheless become one of the Time Lord’s most iconic looks, even when removed from the actor’s fondly-remembered run. Alongside several unique variants and combinations of suits, shoes, and ties with each appearance, the actor’s suggestion of a coat gave the ensemble a distinct silhouette that can be recognized by many fans to this day.
With Tennant’s Fourteenth Doctor outfit evoking this design just over 17 years after his debut, it is clear that the costume is just as important a part of his Doctor Who era’s iconography as any character or creature. While Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor has gone on to forge his very own style within just his first season on the show, it will be interesting to see if he ever dons a similar outfit before his eventual departure.
Source: David Tennant Does A Podcast… (Via ComicBook.com)
Doctor Who
5/10
- Release Date
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December 25, 2023
- Directors
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Douglas Camfield, David Maloney, Christopher Barry, Michael E. Briant, Barry Letts, Michael Ferguson, Richard Martin, Peter Moffatt, Pennant Roberts, Lennie Mayne, Chris Clough, Ron Jones, Paddy Russell, Paul Bernard, Michael Hayes, Timothy Combe, Morris Barry, Gerald Blake, Graeme Harper, Waris Hussein, Rodney Bennett, Mervyn Pinfield, Hugh David, John Gorrie
