Doctor Who showrunner, Russell T Davies, says that, when the show was revived in 2005, Billie Piper was their secret weapon.

Piper, of course, played Rose Tyler regularly opposite the Ninth (Christopher Eccleston) and Tenth (David Tennant) Doctors, but before that, Billie was known as a singer. Davies recalls:

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

This comes 20 years on from the debut of Doctor Who Series 1, and Davies further says:

“Never, never, never, never would you have thought we’d be here 20 years later. No programme would ever think that. It’s astonishing. We were literally just hoping for a second year.”

Indeed, the show was not only quickly recommissioned, but also granted a festive special — The Christmas Invasion, on 25th December 2005, which properly introduced Tennant’s incarnation of the Time Lord after Eccleston sadly left the programme.

That first season remains much-loved with many acclaimed episodes like The Unquiet Dead, Dalek, Father’s Day, The Empty Child/ The Doctor Dances, and series finale, Bad Wolf/ The Parting of the Ways.

And Russell is still involved with the series, returning to the showrunner role for Doctor Who‘s 60th anniversary specials and staying on for the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) era!