David Tennant and Catherine Tate are returning to Doctor Who for the show's upcoming 60th anniversary special. Currently, Doctor Who is wrapping up the tenure of its 13th Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker. When she regenerates in her upcoming farewell episode, Whittaker will be replaced by Ncuti Gatwa, who was only just announced as the 14th Doctor.
Doctor Who has lasted for as long as it has thanks in large part to regeneration since it's allowed the main character to carry on through a variety of actors. When coupled with time travel, it's also led to multi-Doctor stories where different versions of the Doctor will meet and interact. To celebrate the show's 50th anniversary, Doctor Who did just that with an adventure starring the 10th (Tennant) and 11th Doctor (Matt Smith). Now, for the upcoming 60th anniversary, Doctor Who seems set to do the same.
The BBC has announced that David Tennant and Catherine Tate will appear in the Doctor Who 60th anniversary special. They're currently filming the special, which will release in 2023. It's still unclear if the pair are reprising their roles as the 10th Doctor (who Tennant played from 2005 until 2010) and his companion, Donna Noble (who Tate appeared as from 2006-2010), or are playing entirely new characters. Showrunner Russell T. Davies, who was in charge of Doctor Who during Tennant and Tate's time on the show and is returning to run season 14, had this to say about Tennant and Tate's return:
"Maybe this is a missing story. Or a parallel world. Or a dream, or a trick, or a flashback. The only thing I can confirm is that it's going to be spectacular, as two of our greatest stars reunite for the battle of a lifetime."
The 10th Doctor and Donna parted ways in the Doctor Who season 4 finale, "Journey's End" in an especially bittersweet manner. After Donna absorbs an incredible amount of Time Lord knowledge from the TARDIS, becoming the Doctor Donna, her human brain begins to crack under the pressure. To save her life, the Doctor wipes Donna's mind of all her memories of him and returns her home with no knowledge of their many shared adventures. This farewell between the Doctor and his companion is arguably one of the most heartbreaking in Doctor Who's long history, but the strong reaction it received from audiences was also a testament to how great the pairing of Tennant and Tate had been.
For their return in Doctor Who's 60th anniversary special, it's entirely possible that Tennant and Tate are playing versions of the 10th Doctor and Donna from a point in time prior to "Journey's End". That would be the easiest way for their characters to return, keeping their bittersweet ending in place. Then again, rather than revisiting the 10th Doctor and Donna, Tennant and Tate could have been brought on board by Davies to play entirely new roles. Something similar was done for Billie Piper when she returned not as Rose but the Bad Wolf in the 50th Anniversary special, and the same is true of 4th Doctor actor Tom Baker's role as The Curator. While multi-Doctor stories are certainly popular ways to mark an anniversary, it might be that Davies has something else in mind. Still, it's no less exciting to learn Tennant and Tate will once again appear in Doctor Who where they'll get to share the screen with the show's new Doctor.
Source: BBC