David Tennant has been discussing his return to Doctor Who ahead of the show's 60th anniversary, telling the BBC that his return hadn't been pre-planned. The Scotsman will reprise his star-making turn as the title character in the long-running sci-fi series for three specials in 2023 before Ncuti Gatwa, a fellow Scot, takes over the role in 2024, replacing the incumbent Thirteenth Doctor, Jodie Whittaker.

Tennant, who left the show in 2010 before returning for the 50th anniversary special alongside Billie Piper in 2013, revealed that the catalyst for his comeback came when he, Catherine Tate, and former Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies took part in Doctor Who: Lockdown!, a series wherein they would rewatch episodes of the long-running sci-fi series as a way to ease the passing of time when people were unable to leave their homes.

“It all slightly happened a little bit by accident,” he told the BBC. “The lockdown watch-alongs is where this all started. At a certain time and day everyone would press play on a certain episode and some of the people who had been involved in those episodes were tweeting along. I don’t tweet but my wife helped me."

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Image via BBC

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Tennant went on to explain that Tate, his co-star who portrayed the Tenth Doctor's assistant, Donna, was the first to suggest that they get back together and reunite the team onscreen, with Tate's last appearance coming in 2010.

"We were just having a text exchange," said Tennant. "Catherine said, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to do it again?' And then Russell said, ‘We could do a one-off, maybe they’d let us’. We said, ‘yeah that would be a laugh,’ and then it all went quiet. Suddenly, Russell let us know that he was taking over the show again and he would be back fully in charge and would we come and play a little bit for him? So I don’t know if we gave him the idea to take Doctor Who back but certainly we thought if he’s doing it, we can’t let these young people have all the fun."

Tennant also praised Gatwa’s casting, labeling him as 'brilliant'. "He’s a lovely, lovely man, and he’s full of beans, and he’s really talented," he said. "I mean, he’s like scary-talented. So I’m thrilled for every Doctor Who fan for what’s to come, and I include myself in that number.”

The three specials starring Tennant as the Doctor are expected to air in 2023, the 60th anniversary year for Doctor Who.