Incoming (and returning) Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies has addressed why David Tennant's new Doctor's clothes also regenerated when Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor transformed into him. Since the show's inception, whenever a regeneration has taken place, the Doctor's clothes have remained the same, with the change leading to numerous fan theories.
"I was very certain that I didn't want David to appear in Jodie's costume," Russell told Doctor Who Magazine. "I think the notion of men dressing in 'women's clothes', the notion of drag, is very delicate. I'm a huge fan of that culture and the dignity of that, it's truly a valuable thing. But it has to be done with immense thought and respect. With respect to Jodie and her Doctor, I think it can look like mockery when a straight man wears her clothes. To put a great big six-foot Scotsman into them looks like we're taking the mickey.
"Also, I guarantee you it's the only photograph some of the paper would print for the rest of time. If they can pay with gender in a sarcastic or critical way, they will. We could have the Doctor dressed as a knight, or dressed as God, or dressed as William Hartnell, and the only photo they'd print would be of David in what they considered to be women's clothes. Then it becomes weaponized – as a mockery of feminine traits, a mockery of drag, of that culture. So that was never going to happen.
"Knowing that David was coming in, I was absolutely certain that the clothes would regenerate. Nothing could've changed my mind."
Tennant also addressed the change in the magazine while discussing why his new version of the Doctor, officially the Fourteenth Doctor, has a similar outfit to the Tenth Doctor, previously portrayed by Tennant. "If it were too different, I think that would feel wrong somehow," he said. "I couldn't be wearing a cape and space boots. The point of me doing it again means it has to feel kind of the same. A kiss to the past, and a nod to the future."
We'll have to wait until November 2023 to see Tennant's Doctor in action. The BBC previously teased that the next Doctor, played by Ncuti Gatwa, "will then take control of the TARDIS, with his first episode airing over the festive period in 2023." For more, check out our list of the best TV shows of all time.
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