Marks the first time Christopher Eccleston reprised the role of The Ninth Doctor since departing Doctor Who in 2005, though he was approached about reprising the role a few times. He was approached by Steven Moffat about potentially returning for the 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor (2013) but he declined because he didn't like how his Doctor was written in the script. David Richardson approached him in 2014 after Big Finish were given the rights to make audios for modern Doctor Who, but he turned it down as he felt it was too soon to return. Finally, Jason Haigh-Ellery approached him in 2020 as they were both attending the convention Gallifrey One. He said yes after he was taken aback by how much the fans loved his performance and shared their own stories with him.