(Photo: BBC)

Doctor Who is celebrating its 60th anniversary by bringing back one of the show’s most popular incarnations of the Doctor.

David Tennant, who previously played the tenth Doctor, is returning to the BBC series as the fourteenth Doctor for three special episodes later this year. Catherine Tate, who played the tenth Doctor’s companion, Donna Noble, will join him. Showrunner Russell T Davies is also returning.

Other new and returning cast members set to appear in the specials include Neil Patrick Harris, Jacqueline King and Karl Collins, Ruth Madely, Yasmin Finney, and the late Bernard Cribbins.

The sci-fi series, which has aired on BBC America in the US, follows a time-traveling being known as the Doctor who explores time and space while righting wrongs and solving problems. Following the three planned anniversary specials, the series is moving to Disney+.

Davies says that bringing Tennant and Tate back for the anniversary was a no-brainer:

“I realized that there was third act to be written, and it was so much fun writing it… On a really simple level, it’s working with two of the best actors in the world. I love them. I love them as friends. I love their presence. I’m really interested to push the Doctor and Donna into things they’ve never done before.”

Prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Tennant said the following about returning to the world of Doctor Who, per EW:

“Oh, joyous. Just an unexpected treat to get to revisit something that had been such a lovely wonderful experience 15 years ago. To get to have another proper runaround, in an albeit slightly different long coat, was a joy I never really imagined.”

Tennant also talked about the loss of Cribbins. He played Donna’s grandfather Wilfred but first joined the Doctor Who universe in 1966. Tennant noted:

“I am thrilled to say that — although sadly he wasn’t in those episodes as much as we hoped — he was on set with us and Wilfred lives on,”

Specific November airdates for the trio of special episodes will be announced later. The three special episodes will be followed by the arrival of Ncuti Gatwa as the fifteenth Doctor.

What do you think? Are you excited to see Tennant back on Doctor Who?