Only six words were uttered by Christopher Eccleston‘s fan favorite Ninth Doctor during the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special: “And now, for my next trick.” Showrunner Steven Moffat originally had plans to feature the Ninth Doctor alongside his Tenth and Eleventh incarnations in The Day of the Doctor. However, Eccleston’s refusal to return forced Moffat to revise the script and add John Hurt‘s War Doctor in his place, and the Ninth Doctor’s cameo appearance was filled by a clip from the first season of the reboot series. But now, Doctor Who fans have a rare opportunity to discover what Moffat had in mind for Eccleston’s would-be return.
Via Digital Spy, Moffat has shared an excerpt from an early version of the The Day of the Doctor script that included the Ninth Doctor. The excerpt comes from the Doctor Who anthology book called A Second Target for Tommy, which is being published as a benefit for children’s book author and Doctor Who fan Tommy Donbavand; proceeds from the book are being used to fund Donbavand’s cancer treatment, which you can read about and support here.
Unfortunately, A Second Target for Tommy is not available as an eBook, so the only way to read Moffat’s exclusive script excerpt is to buy the anthology directly from Obverse Books. If you do pick up a copy, you’ll also receive several Doctor Who short stories that were contributed to the anthology by over two dozen writers.
Are you excited about the opportunity to check out Moffat’s script Day of the Doctor script excepts? Let us know in the comment section below!
Images: BBC
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