Beloved Doctor Who director reveals why he decided not to return
Former 'Doctor Who' director Joe Ahearne - who worked with Christopher Eccleston on the show - has admitted five episodes in one series was enough.
'Doctor Who' director Joe Ahearne felt overwhelmed "by the end" of his stint.
The director - who was at the helm of five episodes when the beloved BBC sci-fi show returned in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston in the TARDIS - was at the helm for some hugely popular episodes such as 'Father's Day' and 'Dalek', but never ended up returning to the series for another run.
Speaking at the Doctor Who Appreciation Society's 'Doctor Who: 20 Years On' event at the BFI Southbank, he said: "I did love my time working on it.
"But I don't think any other director has done five episodes in a single series – it's a huge commitment, so I was kind of Doctor Who-ed out by the end."
Joe admitted "there were" actually talks about him coming back at some point.
However, he explained: "I kind of felt that I'd already come back, because I'd only come on to do two episodes and then they invited me back for another three... so I feel like I did three series in one."
'Doctor Who' actor Christopher previously admitted he'd have stayed on the show for longer if Joe had always been at the helm.
In 2019, he wrote in memoir 'I Love the Bones of You: My Father and the Making of Me: "Billie [Piper] made 'Doctor Who' a delight but so also did Steven Moffat's scripts, which delivered my best work, bringing me closer to finally knowing exactly who the Doctor was than any other time during the shoot.
"Directors Joe Ahearne and Euros Lyn also allowed the character to blossom and thrive... [I] loved Joe... If he'd directed the show from day one, I'd probably still be playing the Doctor now."
Ahearne's introduction came six episodes in with 'Dalek', and he went onto direct 'Father's Day' and the final three instalments in the series ('Boom Town', 'Bad Wolf' and 'The Parting of the Ways'.
Two decades later, 'Doctor Who' is currently in the middle of current star Ncuti Gatwa's second season.
This weekend, the show returns with the 'Interstellar Song Contest', an episode based on the real life 'Eurovision Song Contest'.
