Dr Who fans have a theory that could see the return of David Tennant

Doctor Who fans have theorised that David Tennant could replace Jodie Whittaker in the series, in a twist that may see him return to the role before Ncuti Gatwa plays the iconic character.

It's been announced that the Scottish actor who played the Tenth Doctor from 2005 to 2010 is returning to the BBC science fiction franchise for the 60th-anniversary episode that will air in November 2023.

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Here are some of the points that have been reported or discussed by fans:

The TARDIS

Filming has already been taking place for this anniversary special as the 51-year-old has been pictured earlier this year sporting his signature trench coat, trainers and spikey hair in Bristol.

The TARDIS that Tennant was standing in front of looked more like Whittaker's than the time travelling machine from his era, as well as reports that Tennant would be returning to play the Fourteenth Doctor and not the Tenth, Plymouth Herald reported.

The mystery surrounding Whittaker's regeneration

Meanwhile, Whittaker's final episode as the Doctor called "The Power of the Doctor" is set to air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday, October 23.

But her regeneration has been shrouded in mystery as the last ten minutes of the episode were not shown at the episode's premiere on October 11 as the BBC wanted to "save" this part for when the episode airs later this month.

This move has raised the eyebrows of fans who have questioned the contents of the last 10 minutes that the broadcaster didn't want to reveal at the premiere - perhaps this is due to there is a big twist?

The Power of the Doctor

The name of the finale itself could be a clue about the abilities of the Doctor, according to Screen Rant's Thomas Bacon which could include the possibility of degeneration.

"But the titular 'Power' is clearly the Doctor's ability to regenerate, with the Chibnall era revealing there are no limits to the Doctor's lives," Bacon wrote.

"The Master is aware of this, and it's reasonable to assume he will aim to either steal or weaponize the Doctor's regeneration energy in some way. Such an act could conceivably cause something to go wrong with the regeneration, causing what could be called a 'degeneration'."

Doctor Who lore

We all know that the Doctor regenerates, but there is a storyline from Doctor Who Weekly where in issues 17 and 18 in the form of a comic strip where the Fourth Doctor regressed through his past regenerations as a result of a temporal anomaly, according to Screen Rant.

However, it should be noted that when Ncuti Gatwa was cast to replace Whittaker he was referred to as the Fourteenth Doctor by the BBC and Tennant himself also confirmed this.

In an interview with The Times earlier this month, he said: "Ncuti Gatwa will be the next Doctor Who and that’s about as much as I am prepared to say."

Guess we will have to wait until October 23 to find out...

Doctor Who's centenary episode The Power of the Doctor will air on Sunday, October 23 on BBC One and will also be available on BBC iPlayer.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 ranking