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David Tennant and Catherine Tate Return for Doctor Who’s 60th Anniversary

David Tennant and Catherine Tate will reprise their roles as the Doctor and Donna Noble in a new episode of Doctor Who for the show’s 60th anniversary.

The news comes a week after Ncuti Gatwa was announced as the Fourteenth Doctor.

Their returns shouldn’t come as a huge surprise: Tennant has been seen around Cardiff recently, and he’s been rumoured to appear again for some time. Nonetheless, it’s very much welcome — the Doctor and Donna were a dream pairing.

Showrunner Russell T Davies said:

“They’re back! And it looks impossible – first, we announce a new Doctor, and then an old Doctor, along with the wonderful Donna, what on earth is happening? 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 Doctor and Donna parted ways in Journey’s End when the Doctor had to wipe Donna’s memory, making her forget him, in order to save her life. He left her family with a warning: if ever she remembers, she will die. But with the two coming face to face once more, the big question is, just what brings the Doctor and Donna back together?

Don’t look at us — we don’t know!

Donna was last seen in The End of Time, Tennant’s regeneration story, and we last saw the Tenth Doctor for The Day of the Doctor, the series’ 50th anniversary special with Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor and John Hurt’s War Doctor.

The 60th anniversary celebrations kick off in 2023.

Philip Bates

Editor and co-founder of the Doctor Who Companion. When he’s not watching television, reading books ‘n’ Marvel comics, listening to The Killers, and obsessing over script ideas, Philip Bates pretends to be a freelance writer. He enjoys collecting everything. Writer of The Black Archive: The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang, The Silver Archive: The Stone Tape, and 100 Objects of Doctor Who.

David Tennant and Catherine Tate Return for Doctor Who’s 60th Anniversary

by Philip Bates time to read: 1 min
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