Doctor Who Shares New Look at David Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor

A new image featuring David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor surfaces ahead of Doctor Who's 60th-anniversary specials.

David Tennant is reprising his titular role in Doctor Who's much-anticipated 60th-anniversary special episodes, and BBC has just dropped a brand-new preview of the Fourteenth Doctor.

Doctor Who is turning 60 on November 23 which will be celebrated with three special episodes. Whovians all over the world are ecstatic about the upcoming 60th anniversary, especially since a handful of familiar faces are making a grand comeback to celebrate the beloved sci-fi drama series' birthday. While Tennant is returning as the Fourteenth Doctor (not the Tenth), Catherine Tate is set to reprise her role as the Time Lord's beloved companion Donna Noble. BBC is trying to keep things quiet to make sure fans can still enjoy a few surprises in the November episodes, but it has just released a new photo featuring Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor in the Radio Times magazine (via Radio Times).

In the new image, the Doctor, who is sporting a new and improved suit reminiscent of the one the Tenth reincarnation wore, is seemingly trying to stop something from happening by blocking traffic. What's peculiar is that the Time Lord looks rather shocked to see the mysterious man who is standing right in front of him. Perhaps, Doctor Who's 60th-anniversary episodes will see even more stars return, such as the Doctor's old nemeses or companions, which could be why he is taken by surprise in the photo.

The Fourteenth Doctor and the Tenth Doctor Are Not the Same Person

Many Whovians are excited about Tennant's on-screen return to Doctor Who for the first time in ten years. His last appearance happened to fall on the 50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor" where he reprised his role as the Tenth Doctor alongside Matt Smith, Jenna-Loise Coleman, Billie Piper, and John Hurt.

What's important to remember is that this time will be different because the actor will be playing a whole other incarnation of the beloved character, although it might bear certain similarities to the fan-favorite Tenth Doctor. In a recent interview with Doctor Who Magazine, Tennant said that the Fourteenth Doctor should be treated separately from his original role. "The Doctor's been three different people in the meantime, so I'm not necessarily the same version of the Doctor that I was before," he remarked.

Donna, played by Tate, will presumably be different, too, the Doctor may have grown older by a few thousand years or even millennia since he last saw Donna, but a lot of time has passed for her as well. The Doctor Who actor added that the Doctor and Donna were "not necessarily exactly the same versions of themselves as they were." Tennant then reiterated that he would be portraying a brand-new version of the character, saying, "I’m not the Tenth Doctor now, I'm the Fourteenth. Well, strictly speaking we don't know what the actual number is anymore, do we?"

Doctor Who will return in Nov. 2023.