Billie Piper was secret weapon behind Doctor Who revival, says Russell T Davies

Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has said he never thought the show would still be going 20 years on from its revival.

It’s A Sin creator Davies, 61, from Swansea, rebooted the popular sci-fi show in 2005.

He said his “secret weapon” was actress Billie Piper, who played the Doctor’s companion – Rose Tyler.

Piper, 42, starred alongside Christopher Eccleston for one series, which began on 26 March 2005, before Scottish actor David Tennant took on the mantle as the 10th incarnation of the Time Lord.

“It all felt terribly important,” Davies told Radio Times.

“I’d loved Doctor Who all my life, and I think its return has now proved that it’s invulnerable.

“But it didn’t feel like that then. It felt very much last chance at the saloon.”

The show’s revival came more than 15 years after it was cancelled by the BBC following a 26-year run.

“In that build-up to transmission, I felt like we had a secret weapon – and that was Billie Piper,” Davies said.

“Everyone knew Christopher Eccleston was a great actor, but knowing how good Billie was, was a terrific feeling.

“Because people came to criticise, people came to mock, and people came to scorn.”

Speaking about the show’s format, he added: “There’s nothing quite like that anthology show imagination of Doctor Who, where it takes these wild leaps from one episode to another.”

The main character of the BBC show is able to regenerate, meaning more than a dozen actors have now played the time-travelling alien.

“Never, never, never, never would you have thought we’d be here 20 years later,” Davies said.

“No programme would ever think that. It’s astonishing. We were literally just hoping for a second year.”

Davies replaced Chris Chibnall as showrunner following his exit from the series, alongside 13th Doctor Jodie Whittaker, in 2022.

In 2023, Tennant returned to the show and starred as the 14th Doctor for three special episodes marking the show’s 60th anniversary.

Ncuti Gatwa is the current Doctor and his second series will officially launch on 12 April at 08:00 on BBC iPlayer and later that day on BBC One in the UK