Doctor Who Theory Explains The Real Reason Jodie Whittaker Regenerated Into David Tennant

Doctor Who's 60th-anniversary special is a sequel to a beloved era, so does Jodie Whittaker's regeneration mean that the Tennant/Tate era never ended?

A theory about the real reason that Jodie Whittaker regenerated into David Tennant in Doctor Who is backed up by expanded media and a trailer for the 60th-anniversary specials. The regeneration scene at the end of "The Power of the Doctor" was the first time that viewers had seen the Doctor regenerate into a previous body. Tom Baker's Curator in "The Day of the Doctor" confirmed that it was possible, but the actual transition had never been depicted on screen until David Tennant's return as the Fourteenth Doctor. Now this "old favorite" is heading for a reunion with Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) and a battle with the Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris).

Doctor Who continues to tease that there's a very specific reason that the Fourteenth Doctor has the face of their Tenth incarnation. In a previous Doctor Who trailer, Donna pondered why "this face came back", while the Doctor appeared horrified to recognize their own teeth at the end of "Power". All of which suggests that something has gone very badly wrong with either the regenerative process, or perhaps even the Doctor's timeline.

Doctor Who Is Teasing A Problem With The Fourteenth Doctor's Timeline

Watching the recent trailer for Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials, viewers could be forgiven for thinking that it was 2008 all over again. David Tennant and Catherine Tate are back together, and fearlessly confronting a brand-new threat. At the start of the trailer, the Doctor explains Donna's predicament to Shirley Anne Bingham (Ruth Madeley). "If she remembers me, she will die, so what happens next? A spaceship crashes right in front of her." However, that's not strictly true. What happened next was that the Master (John Simm) inhabited the bodies of everyone on Earth and attempted to capture Donna on Christmas Day in "The End of Time".

As it's a trailer, the omission of the events of "The End of Time" could merely be a pacing choice. However, season 2 of the official audio drama Doctor Who: Redacted further implies that something is wrong with the Fourteenth Doctor's timeline. Trying to contact the Doctor for help with a situation on Earth, Cleo (Charlie Craggs) is informed that nobody can reach the Time Lord because of an issue with their personal timeline. That, combined, with the seamless way that the 2023 specials appear to carry on from Doctor Who season 4 suggests that someone or something has meddled with the Tenth Doctor's timeline.

Theory: The Toymaker Changed Time So That The Tenth Doctor Never Regenerated

If the events of "The End of Time" have been removed from the Doctor's memory as hinted, then it suggests a major alteration to their timeline. If that's the case then it's likely that the Toymaker has used their celestial powers to ensure the Tenth Doctor's regeneration never happened. It would certainly explain why Jodie Whittaker's costume changed into an updated David Tennant outfit during the regeneration. Maybe while the Thirteenth Doctor was battling the Master (Sacha Dhawan) for her lives, the Toymaker was putting the finishing touches to his plan, causing a divergence in the timeline at the point of regeneration.

David Tennant constantly updated his costume throughout the Tenth Doctor era. It makes sense, therefore, that if he had remained the Doctor for the past 13 years then his costume would have gone through several updates. The blue overcoat and checked waistcoat sit neatly alongside the brown and blue pinstripe suits and long beige coat from his original tenure. If the Tenth Doctor didn't regenerate then there are some troubling implications for Donna's family, more specifically, her grandfather.

The Tenth Doctor regenerated after saving Wilf (Bernard Cribbins) from fatal radiation poisoning after he became trapped inside a nuclear booth. A clip from the trailer for Doctor Who's 2023 specials sees the Doctor in another small chamber banging on the walls and screaming "why did it have to be this?" It's a disturbing callback to his moment of selfish rage at having to sacrifice his life to save Wilf, suggesting a link back to the Tenth Doctor's final heroic action. Combined with the threat to Donna's life is she ever remembers him, perhaps the Toymaker is taunting the Doctor by showing him the true cost of staying inside the body of an "old favorite".

The Fourteenth Doctor's First Line Hinted Toward A Timeline Change

"I know these teeth" was the Fourteenth Doctor's first line, a deliberate callback to the Tenth Doctor's "New teeth, that's weird." The phrasing implies that the Doctor's literally in the same body of the Tenth Doctor. Regeneration in Doctor Who is obviously about more than just changing the face, it's a complete physiological transformation. For the Doctor to specifically have the exact same face, haircut, voice, and dress sense suggests David Tennant's return is due to something far more complicated than the regenerative equivalent of slipping into a comfortable pair of slippers.

Doctor Who has established that the Doctor is able to detect timeline changes, so his slight horror at the change could tie into that. The Tenth Doctor was unwilling to let go of his incarnation, so surely they should be excited at settling back into this particular body. However, that's not how David Tennant plays the lines, he's horrified and bewildered by what's happened. This implies that there could have been an alteration to his timeline that would retcon everything from the Steven Moffat and Chris Chibnall eras.

Why RTD Retconning Moffat And Chibnall Is A Good Idea

RTD retconning Doctor Who's Timeless Child storyline is at the top of some fans' lists of desired outcomes from the new era. If the Toymaker has altered time so that the Tenth Doctor never regenerated, then these revelations could be quietly forgotten about. The only issue with that would be the price that Donna Noble would have to pay. If RTD retcons everything from the Moffat and Chibnall eras in the first of the three anniversary specials, then he gives fans an impossible dilemma for the remainder.

The Doctor - and by extension, the viewers - would be forced to decide between erasing the Timeless Child and killing Donna Noble. If David Tennant had never left, then none of the contentious moments so fervently opposed by RTD's die-hard fans would ever have happened. However, if the Tenth Doctor had never given his life to save Wilfred Mott, the hugely lovable character would have died horribly from radiation poisoning. And then, after that, the reunion with the Doctor would kill beloved companion Donna Noble.

If that's the story that RTD is setting out to tell with Doctor Who's 60th anniversary special then it's a perfect takedown of fandom and nostalgia. As the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) told Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) life is a collection of good things and bad things that don't always outweigh one or the other. The same is true of the entire Doctor Who canon, and by reminding fans of the harmful effects of pining after a perceived golden age, RTD can push the show into its next 60 years.