Talk:Christopher Eccleston

Latest comment: 3 years ago by Alex 21 in topic Doctor Who date (2005-present?)

Biography assessment rating comment edit

WikiProject Biography Assessment

I'd like to see a top photo, but definitely a B.

The article may be improved by following the WikiProject Biography 11 easy steps to producing at least a B article. -- Yamara 14:28, 15 May 2007 (UTC)Reply

Discussion edit

Do we have any policy yet on external links to fan sites? There are an awful lot turning up here. --OpenToppedBus - Talk 14:47, Jun 23, 2005 (UTC)

Doctor Who tenure edit

I've reverted User:Fatso the wombat's removal of the ambiguity of whether Eccleston was the shortest-serving Doctor or not. Although from an actor's standpoint, it's obvious that McGann's TV movie was less than Eccleston's 13-episode series, many Doctor Who fans did consider him the "current" Doctor from 1996 to 2005, which would make Eccleston the shortest-serving actor in the role. It depends on how you define "tenure" in the context of Doctor Who, and I think that the NPOV approach is to mention both interpretations. —Josiah Rowe (talkcontribs) 07:23, 7 February 2006 (UTC)Reply

But this article is about Christopher Eccleston, not Doctor Who. It is therefore grossly unfair on Eccleston to suggest that he did less work, or had less screen-time, than McGann. As you so rightly say, from an actor's standpoint there is no doubt that Eccleston did far more, and this article is about him as an actor. Why should McGann even be mentioned at all, except perhaps in passing? TharkunColl 08:08, 7 February 2006 (UTC)Reply
Pursuing the question of screen time is futile, because to do this you would have to (for example) ignore the first 25 minutes (or whatever) of the 1996 Paul McGann TV Movie when counting McGann's contribution, then you would have to discount any scenes where he wasn't present, and even any shots he wasn't present in. ISTM that there are two ways to look at this - one is to count the time when the actor was considered the official Doctor by the BBC (hence you get huge reigns for McCoy and McGann; this is a slightly fannish approach. The other way (which is probably more appropriate to the general readership) is to look at the number of years during which original television stories featuring that actor were broadcast. I think that as this is an Eccleston article, the comment should be shortened, and I have done this. DavidFarmbrough 09:48, 7 February 2006 (UTC)Reply
That's fair. —Josiah Rowe (talkcontribs) 16:15, 7 February 2006 (UTC)Reply
I've completely removed the discussion about how long he played The Doctor, the article is about Christopher Eccleston, not Doctor Who. Maccy69 16:48, 4 October 2007 (UTC)Reply

I've mentioned this before, but in the end credits and all paperwork, Eccleston is credited as "Doctor Who" not "The Doctor". Would it not be more accurate to reflect this in his filmography? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.7.215.122 (talk) 03:04, 14 March 2014 (UTC)Reply

Degree? edit

As far as I can find he studied at Salford Tech (before it was a University) and then the Central School of Speech and Drama [1] in London. See eg [2]. Were was his first from?Billlion 19:03, 25 May 2006 (UTC)Reply

Height? edit

How tall is he? He seems to tower over all his co-stars. --24.249.108.133 23:04, 19 September 2006 (UTC)Reply

His agent’s page lists him as being 6’ even (1.83m), so I've updated his height in the InfoBox to match that. He does tend to "look taller" than that on screen, which I believe is due to (a) many other actors being fairly short and (b) his lanky frame. Little Miss Might Be Wrong 23:19, 16 November 2006 (UTC)Reply

Photo dates edit

Some of those older photos of Mr. Eccleston really need to be dated. --24.249.108.133 23:05, 19 September 2006 (UTC)Reply

Joker on Film link dead edit

This link seems to be dead. Does anyone know another place we can cite? --GracieLizzie 19:20, 17 November 2006 (UTC)Reply

I don't, but do we really need to mention it? I don't really see how a role he was (apparently) considered for but lost out on is particularly notable. I'm not sure how reliable a source "Jokeronfilm.com" was even when it was up. If there was a behind-the-scenes book on Batman Begins that we could cite saying that he was a contender for the role of the Scarecrow, that would probably be better... but for now, my inclination is just to take the Batman line out completely. —Josiah Rowe (talkcontribs) 01:43, 18 November 2006 (UTC)Reply
I don't mind but I do wonder if any outside fansites have sited this article as an source for this fact. I'll wait to see what others think but I wouldn't be that bothered if it was removed. --GracieLizzie 12:12, 18 November 2006 (UTC)Reply
Nothing's been said on this for a while and I agree with the reasoning above, I mean why list a role he was considered for but didn't get? Especially when you consider that through his career there's bound to have been quite a few times when that's happened. And on top of that the site it cites isn't there anymore. So I'm just going to go ahead and remove the line.Number36 22:59, 23 December 2006 (UTC)Reply

Driving Licence edit

Does it really matter what kind of driving licence he has? Most people in the USA can only drive an automatic.

   [needs citation] 75.92.160.60 (talk) 02:08, 23 March 2012 (UTC)Reply


Yes, but the vast majority of drivers in Britain can use a standard transmission gearbox-Ted

Vandalism edit

Some one has heavily vandalised this page.80.41.13.35 20:07, 6 January 2007 (UTC) Never mind. Page was reverted.80.41.13.35 20:10, 6 January 2007 (UTC) Someone has added a disturbing comment on this page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 101.162.80.137 (talk) 05:16, 6 August 2013 (UTC)Reply

Line is difficult to understand edit

He was also the first Doctor Who who was actually born after the beginning of the original television series. (He was born two weeks after the famous first Dalek story was first broadcast in the UK).

I had to read this line 3 or 4 times before I realized it was trying to say that Christopher Eccleston was 1st person to portray The Doctor that was born after the original Daleks Serial. I am an American and just started watching the show last year so that may explain why I feel to see the significance of this. If he was born after the show had started period, that would be noteworthy to me. If anyone has any other opinions leave them here, or I will just remove it. 68.226.118.115 02:51, 22 July 2007 (UTC)Reply

It means he was born after the series started. I've removed it anyway, Doctor Who is only part of Christoper Eccleston's career and it doesn't seem significant to me. Also, it's on the edge of Original Research unless you can site a notable source that found this factoid worthy of mention. Maccy69 16:53, 4 October 2007 (UTC)Reply

What's with the unicorns? edit

Someone seems to have vandalized this page by subbing in the word 'unicorn' in several places. From reading comments it sounds like this isn't the first time someone has taken liberties with the page, and it was restored once before. If someone could restore it again, that would be fantastic. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.228.58.127 (talk) 09:08:56, August 19, 2007 (UTC) Somebody is playing bad wolf. In Dr. Who the words Bad Wolf started showing up everywhere, as part of the story arc. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.19.144.8 (talk) 19:14, 3 January 2012 (UTC)Reply

Destro in G.I. Joe edit

I was just reading at the Wizard forums that Eccleston is going to be Destro in the G.I. Joe movie. http://wizarduniverse.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=19953 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.206.136.223 (talk) 03:55, 12 February 2008 (UTC)Reply

Older twin brothers edit

The article made reference to Ecclestone having older twin brothers. I have removed the word twin, since it is impossible to have more than on twin brother, anymore would be triplets, etc. More informed editors can edit to clarify. Hiding T 11:32, 23 May 2008 (UTC)Reply

His older brothers, Alan and Keith, are twins; i.e. twins with each other, not him. The information has been reinstated. 86.2.48.247 (talk) 09:16, 29 May 2009 (UTC)Reply

IPA edit

I seriously doubt that he pronounces his name like this. Users unfamiliar with IPA should not enter phonetic transcriptions of names. I believe that, if there is nothing unusual in his name or the way he pronounces it, there should be no IPA entry at all. The way it is set here now (IPA: /'krɪs-toʊ-fɜr ˈɛk-kʌlz-tʌn/) is definitely wrong. If nobody objects I shall remove it. Iago4096 12:11, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

Just saw that there has been some reverting going on on this matter. I do not support val42's point. Wrong information is definitely worse than no information. I would NOT put it in because it is redundant information. Nobody would mispronounce the name. The is no IPA-info for John Wayne or Will Smith, but there is some for Cynewulf and Giuseppe Verdi, because the first two are simple to be pronounced correctly by a modern speaker of English, but the latter two are not necessarily so. The correct pronunciation for Christopher Ecclestone would be 'krɪstɒfɜr ˈɛklstən. Put it in, if you absolutely have to. Iago4096 12:45, 8 June 2008 (UTC)
My point was an attempt at good information is better than no information. (That is what Wikipedia is about, after all.) Then those who know better come along and make a correction. (That is also what Wikipedia is about.) Someone put the original pronunciation phonetically, not using IPA. I changed it to IPA. I have also made your correction on the article page, because it is better.
I also think that the pronunciation is needed. A Doctor Who fan that works in the same building as I do pronounces Ecclestone's last name as ɛkˈləstiːn (with emphasis on the second syllable), from the very first time he said Ecclestone's name. I then told him how I pronounce it. Watching the DVD extras, I found out how Eccleston pronounces his own name, which is what I had used. Because of my experience, I think that the correct pronunciation should be used. However, the pronunciation first name could certainly be removed because it is a common name. — Val42 (talk) 04:02, 10 June 2008 (UTC)Reply

Danny Boyle edit

The episode of Inspector Morse (Second Time Around) that Mr. Eccleston appeared in was written by Daniel Boyle (a Scottish born writer). The now-famous Danny Boyle is an English born director. The two often get mixed up as they both worked on Inspector Morse. I don't dare try to change this as I am not very computer literate.Tishbite37 (talk) 15:00, 20 February 2009 (UTC)Reply

Picture? edit

Why is there not a picture of him on this page, when there is on the page for the Ninth Doctor? Can someone please fix that? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.27.210.82 (talk) 03:06, 31 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

We dont have a picture of him because, as far as I know, we do not have a picture of him we can use. The picture must be taken by someone who is willing to release their rights to the picture to the public through one of the free use licenses. Active Banana (talk) 03:11, 31 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Susan Boyle edit

It has become apparent that Christopher Eccleston is engaged to Susan Boyle - I think this should be included in the article. 86.156.239.174 (talk) 12:33, 2 April 2011 (UTC)Reply

If you can cite a reliable source, then it will be included. DonQuixote (talk) 15:19, 2 April 2011 (UTC)Reply

I don't know about Susan Boyle, but there is apparently some sort of thing on the TimesOnLine in December 2011, about his being married since 2010 and is expecting a child in February. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.19.144.8 (talk) 03:59, 3 January 2012 (UTC)Reply

See The Times(London) December 24, 2011 under the film section. There is a video/interview there. I can't read it because I don't have an account with the Times, but several of the fan sites have quoted it. Also says he lives in North London. Odd that a man known for his protection of his privacy would give the interview in the first place, but who knows. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.19.144.8 (talk) 19:12, 3 January 2012 (UTC)Reply


Here is a blogger who reprinted The Times article. I don't know if that counts as a source though since it's a reprint. But if it's accurate, it does confirm he is married and at least as of December, 2011 his wife was expecting a baby. It does not name his wife, however.

The Times Article Reprinted on a blog.

--Hypatiaslore (talk) 16:33, 7 August 2012 (UTC)hypatiasloreReply

Emphasis on Doctor Who Tenure edit

Why is Eccleston's career split between pre-Doctor Who, Doctor Who, and post-Doctor Who? It's obvious he considers Doctor Who as just another role, and all told it's no smaller or bigger to his career then all the other stuff he's done. Most people outside of Britain knew him from his earlier movie roles.

The three sections should all be merged into one. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.189.128.13 (talk) 16:40, 13 November 2013 (UTC)Reply

That might be a legacy thing back when Eccleston was primarily known internationally for playing the Doctor. It could be argued that this is still the case as he's yet to play a role of similar stature. People writing about Sean Connery's career still refer to pre- and post-Bond and he won an Oscar in the post-Bond era. 68.146.52.234 (talk) 21:15, 15 December 2014 (UTC)Reply

Name misspelling edit

Should it be acknowledged that his last name is frequently misspelled Ecclestone? The reason I say this is aside from all the media misprints, Billie Piper's autobiography, Growing Pains, consistently uses the misspelling and she worked with him. 68.146.52.234 (talk) 21:15, 15 December 2014 (UTC)Reply

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Doctor Who date (2005-present?) edit

With today's announcement (see https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/christopher-eccleston-returns-to-doctor-who ) I noticed that the date of the Doctor Who section has been changed to 2005-present rather than 2005. Is this the right way of doing it? I'm unsure because this is a return to audio stories, not the main show. Also he has not portrayed the role for 15 years and I think this heading might be misleading in making it seem a lot more of a continuous role than it has been. What do other editors think? Pinkalotk (talk) 15:57, 9 August 2020 (UTC)Reply

As you say he hasn't been playing the role for 15 years so in my opinion it should be changed to (2005, 2020).DMT biscuit (talk) 22:22, 9 August 2020 (UTC)Reply
Changed it to 2021, given the first volume's release in May. -- /Alex/21 04:20, 10 August 2020 (UTC)Reply