The 2005 revival of Doctor Who

Sixteen years - nothing to a Time Lord but, for fans waiting on the return of Doctor Who to the small screen, it may have seemed like an eternity. On 26 March 2005, the wait for Whovians ended as The Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston, returned to British television.

Even though the BBC had stopped producing Doctor Who in 1989, there were still people within the organisation who believed the show had enduring appeal and could be revived for a modern audience. ​

Two of those people were Lorraine Heggessey, Controller of BBC One, and Jane Tranter, Head of Drama. Here they explain the processes they went through to kickstart the Doctor Who revival in 2005.

Like producer Verity Lambert in 1963, it was a woman who was tasked with making the vision of Doctor Who a reality on television. This time it fell to Julie Gardner, who had just been appointed Head of Drama at BBC Wales.

In this interview with Mark Lawson, Russell T Davies explains why his name kept coming up when people spoke about bringing Doctor Who back to television.

In this previously unseen interview with Verity Lambert from 2003, the original Doctor Who showrunner gives her seal of approval to the appointment of Russell T Davies.

The news of Doctor Who returning was officially announced to the press on 26 September 2003. ​

As the series was going to be made in Wales, this was a big story for the news team there. Here, Wales Today presenter Jason Mohammad announces Doctor Who’s return.

Audiences had to wait over a year before they got to see Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor. He made his first on screen appearance in this trailer, where The Doctor invites viewers to join him on his adventures.

Ahead of the relaunch, the BBC Culture Show was invited to the premiere of the first episode in Wales where presenter and Doctor Who fan Matthew Sweet found out if the new series could live up to expectations.

Only days after the broadcast of the first episode of series one of Doctor Who, BBC News reported that lead actor Christopher Eccleston would not be returning for a second series.​

When Christopher Ecclestone announced his departure after just one series, it looked as though the revived BBC sci-fi classic might be in trouble, but rapidly another charismatic young actor was lined up, one who was known for his intense but cheeky look – David Tennant.

In 2005 he spoke to Mark Lawson about the excitement and trepidation he felt taking on the role of The Doctor.

Finally, in 2008 Russell T Davies described how proud he was of that 2005 series.