When the famous and highly successful BBC science fiction series Doctor Who disappeared from British TV screens at the end of 1989, thousands of loyal fans must have feared that that was the last time they would ever see their much loved show.

Fortunately for them, a large dedicated effort was made to keep the series going in the form of novels, and also the Big Finish Audios.

Without this massive effort from dedicated supporters, it is highly unlikely that the famous Doctor would have s triumphantly returned to our screens in the spring of 2005.

When it was announced by the controller of BBC1 in late 2003 that Doctor Who would be returning to BBC screens, the British viewing public were astonished. Russell T Davies, a well known television producer, had actually written one of the Doctor Who novels, so he would be given the job of resurrecting the series.

It is claimed that the first choice of Russell Davies for the part of the Doctor was the highly rated actor Christopher Eccleston, but some reports say that Bill Nighy was offered the role first, and turned it down. Whatever the truth is Eccleston was at the helm when Doctor Who relaunched to the viewing public in 2005.

The fears that the show would not be able to revive itself proved to be totally unfounded, as the show played to excellent viewing figures amid a flood of positive publicity. The only downside was that Christopher Eccleston stated that he would not stay on for another series, and in the end he only completed thirteen shows.

---

These shows were, however, responsible for the series establishing itself once again in the minds of the British TV viewing public. Following Eccleston would be David Tennant, a Scottish actor whose name had originally been touted back when Eccleston was first given the job.

David Tennant first appeared as Doctor Who in the regeneration episode 'The Parting of The Ways', and then took part in the 2005 Children In Need special. Tennant has now completed two full series in the role of Doctor Who, as well as doing two specials for Christmas. He has announced that he will be staying in the role for the fourth series.

Now that David Tennant seems settled in the role, the future looks a lot brighter for Doctor Who fans. The show is live on TV once again, the ratings are solid, and the leading actor has committed to another series. Not only that, they can enjoy vintage episodes from the past on home video and DVD, and there has now even been released a collection of Doctor Who Audiobooks.

These Audiobooks allow people to listen to Doctor Who in bed, in the car, while walking or jogging, and they even feature the transcripts of some of the shows which no longer exist in TV form.

Our Tags:Christopher Eccleston David Tennant Doctor Who Audiobooks Russell Davies