Big Finish, the company behind acclaimed Doctor Who audio dramas, recently managed a feat that once seemed impossible: convincing Christopher Eccleston to return to Doctor Who following his exit in 2005.

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Eccleston reprised his role as the Ninth Doctor for a new set of stories, to be released in May 2021. That means that Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi are the only former Doctors not to have had their Big Finish debut...

To mark the company's Monthly Adventures range earning a Guinness World Record, Big Finish chairman Jason Haigh-Ellery and creative director Nicholas Briggs were guests on the RadioTimes.com Doctor Who podcast, where Haigh-Ellery let slip that he had asked "other Doctors" to come onboard.

“I got [Christopher Eccleston] at the right time," he explained. "He’d just come off stage and he was pumped up, and obviously he was open to the idea whereas previously he hadn’t been. Obviously we had asked before. And we continue to ask [other] Doctors.”

Briggs interrupted: "Stop right there Jason!"

Yet, when asked specifically about Peter Capaldi and Matt Smith, Haigh Ellery did offer some hope: “Well you know, we would love to have Peter and obviously Matt come and join us. We shall see what the future holds.”

It wouldn't be surprising to see Capaldi or Smith take on the Time Lord mantle once again. Other Doctors, including Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Paul McGann, David Tennant and most recently Eccleston, have had Big Finish adventures after leaving the TV series.

"It’s such an iconic role – it’s a part that you never want to leave. And the advantage of audio is that you can grow older and still play the same part," Haigh-Ellery said.

"It’s a part that you will love for the rest of your life, and you get that. There’s moments when you’re talking to the actors and you can see the Doctorishness within them, and what they brought to the show. It’s fantastic that they’ve all continued to want to come back and play the part. And it’s a delight to work with all of them."

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