A report in the Birmingham Mail (via Airlock Alpha) says that Christopher Eccleston will once again don his leather jacket and man the helm of the TARDIS as he returns for the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special.

Not only did the Mail say that Ecclestone was returning as the Ninth Doctor but would be joined by all actors who played one of Matt Smith/The Doctor’s previous incarnations. This includes deceased actors William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee who played the first three Doctors.

(Incidentally, they were my first three Doctors because the Space channel here in Canada used to show reruns of old Doctor Who. That’s why my current favourite new Doctor is Eccleston due to his Doctor being closest to Hartnell’s Doctor. I’m pretty sure that Hartnell was my first Doctor and you never forget your first.)

The report says that showrunner Steven Moffat is working on a very special 50th Anniversary episode of the show. While fan speculation saw most guessing that David Tennant would return as the 10th Doctor, no one expected Eccleston to return, let alone all of the Doctors from years past.

It’s tradition for Doctor Who to have a gathering of past incarnations for anniversary specials. Hartnell, Troughton and Pertwee reunited for The Three Doctors in 1973 on the 10th anniversary in which they faced Omega. The Doctor’s first four incarnations appeared alongside Fifth Doctor Peter Davison for The Five Doctors 20th anniversary special. (Okay, Tom Baker didn’t actually appear in that special but did appear in unaired archive footage.)

While we don’t have confirmation as to who would appear in a 50th anniversary special, we’re fairly certain that it will happen. My only question is if the Doctors will do battle with The Master, Omega or a new evil archnemesis.

Banner image via Boon Periodicals.