Christopher Eccleston verdict on Billie Piper as Doctor Who

The Manchester-born actor’s first major role came in the early 1990s, with his breakout performance in Let Him Have It.

He followed this up with the popular BBC drama Our Friends in the North, starring alongside Daniel Craig, Gina McKee, and Mark Strong.

The 62-year-old has also featured in multiple films, including Shallow Grave, 28 Days Later and Thor: The Dark World.

But Chris is perhaps best known and beloved by fans across the world for his iconic turn as the Doctor in the BBC’s Doctor Who.

Playing the ninth incarnation of the Time Lord, he helped relaunch the sci-fi series in 2005 after ‘the wilderness years’.

READ MORE: Matt Smith wants Doctor Who return after shock regeneration

Christopher Eccleston. (Image: Jeff Moore / PA)

Bringing a modernised show which had new generations hiding behind the sofa, Chris starred opposite Billie Piper, who played companion, Rose Tyler.

Hopping in the Tardis and fast-forwarding to the present, he was at the Oxford Literary Festival on Sunday (March 29).

Sitting down opposite fellow actor Paterson Joseph, the pair discussed their lives and careers at Oxford University’s Sheldonian Theatre.

The 61-year-old, who has been the Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University for more than three years, is known for his roles in Wonka, Peep Show and Julius Caesar.

Both actors have written books, with I Love the Bones of You by Chris, and Mr Joseph’s award-winning The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho.

Following their conversation and some questions from the crowd, the pair departed the historic venue to rapturous applause.

READ MORE: Colin Baker claims Billie Piper ‘can’t be the next Doctor Who’

Paterson Joseph and Christopher Eccleston at the Sheldonian Theatre. (Image: Newsquest)

After the event, Chris took some time to have an exclusive chat with the Oxford Mail about Oxford, Doctor Who and more.

“I think I’ve been to Oxford once before,” he said.

“When I arrived here this morning, the bells were ringing, and when I was in Cambridge about a year ago for the Folk Festival, the bells were ringing too.

“It made me think of when I played Jude in Jude the Obscure, who is the classic working-class guy who dreams of being a scholar and coming to Oxford or Cambridge, and it’s never left me.

“And I was walking around today just completely and utterly astounded by the architecture.

“I went into the Divinity School and stood in there and just looked because Jude was a stonemason.

READ MORE: Billie Piper becomes new Doctor Who after Ncuti Gatwa regeneration

Christopher Eccleston. (Image: PA)

“The irony of Oxford and Cambridge, of course, is that all these working-class men made this beauty, and a lot of them dreamt to be scholars themselves.

“So it makes me think how fortunate I was to play Jude.”

Speaking about appearing at Oxford Literary Festival 2026, Chris added: “My dad would be very proud that I’ve been asked to speak at a literary festival because my family were all voracious readers.

“Books are the gateway, that’s what I’d say to any young person – if you’re in trouble, and you don’t know anything, it will be in a book.

“So if I can support a literary festival, I’ll be there.”

Having already penned his autobiographical book about his relationship with his father, Ronnie, Chris revealed that he’s keen to write again.

READ MORE: Alex Kingston teases River Song return to Doctor Who

Christopher Eccleston and Oxford Mail reporter Ed Burnett. (Image: Newsquest)

“Yes, I would like to write, but I think writing certainly within my industry is the hardest thing to do,” he said.

“I think it’s the most ignored and the most malign, and that’s deeply ironic because they’re the most important people in our industry, writers.

“So yes, I’d very much like to write again, but I don’t seem to have the discipline, especially with being alone with your thoughts for so long.

“Most of the writers I know working in television and film are lunatics because as soon as there’s a wrap party or a drink, they’re there because they spend so much time alone.

“But I should try more, and I really admire what Paterson’s done.”

In recent months, the 62-year-old has fronted a high‑profile campaign calling for a ban on gambling advertising, working with the Coalition to End Gambling Ads.

READ MORE: Former Doctor Who speculates on show’s future as BBC confirm new episode

A short film titled Stacking the Deck is available to watch on YouTube, and Chris spoofs the style of glossy betting commercials.

Criticising gambling ads, he has urged the government to curb promotions which are helping to destroy lives.

“We’ve addressed the advertising of alcohol, and we’ve addressed the advertising of tobacco, but we are not accepting that gambling is an addiction,” said Chris.

“It’s a disease. These gambling companies are making absolute fortunes, and they’ve got the government in their pocket.

“The government needs to clean that up, and I think the public would respect whichever government was in power if they said we’re going to take a lot of your money off you.

“People are committing suicide. I’ve interviewed a woman who lost her husband, and her two children have lost their father because of his addiction, which destroyed the family’s finances.

READ MORE: Doctor Who star spotted in restaurant on Oxfordshire border

Christopher Eccleston. (Image: PA)

“It’s being encouraged as you only need to have a mobile phone and you’re targeted. So it’s a moral question for me.

“Children are seeing these things. When you’re watching Premier League football, there are constant advertisements by people who should know better.

“It’s going in subliminally, and it’s rooting. It’s a huge addiction. So we start with the same strictures applied to the advertising of alcohol and tobacco.”

Moving on to music, Chris is known to be a big fan of The Smiths from his native Manchester, but the actor opened up on what else he likes to listen to.

“I like Black Grape, Happy Mondays, Joy Division, New Order, but really I’m a soul boy.

“The Smiths are an outlier for me. I was born in 1964, and I heard all the great Motown stacks, all of funk, hearing black American music made me realise that America is a country built on racial discrimination.

READ MORE: Oxfordshire actress starring in new Doctor Who spin-off series

Christopher Eccleston. (Image: PA)

It made me look at America in a very different way. It was really important in my education about racism, and also, you could dance to it.

“Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, Curtis Mayfield, Betty Wright, people like that.

“At the same time, I was listening to all the Jamaican reggae and ska, but it’s that interesting thing that white guys of my generation, even the skinheads, were listening to black music.

“That’s what music’s supposed to do, to bring people together. So yeah, I’m a soul boy.”

Finally, on the topic of Doctor Who, Chris addressed his former co-star, Billie Piper, becoming the new Doctor, as previously suggested.

While appearing at the Fan Expo convention in 2022, the 62-year-old had said: “I was saying to somebody today in the green room that Russell T Davies is coming back, right, and who’s going to be his Doctor?

READ MORE: Doctor Who and Harry Potter star to meet fans in Oxfordshire

Billie Piper and Christopher Eccleston as Rose Tyler and the Doctor. (Image: BBC / PA)

“I think it should be Billie Piper, actually. Catherine Tate’s great, but I think there’s your Doctor.

“And I’d like to see you all struggle with it. ‘How can she be the Doctor when she was an assistant?!’

“I like the idea of it blowing fuses in the canon, or whatever it’s called.”

Then last year, Ncuti’s Fifteenth Doctor regenerated into an incarnation played by Ms Piper, realising Chris’ own idea.

When asked if he really was a Time Lord after making the correct prediction, the actor laughed and joked: “Exactly, I’m a prophet!”

Reacting to his old co-star taking on the role that he previously held, Chris was utterly supportive and said: “Give it to Billie! Yeah, why not? Why not.”

You can catch Chris next in the new psychological thriller miniseries Unchosen, which premieres on Netflix on Tuesday, April 21.