 On 30 March 2005 the BBC confirmed that Eccleston would not be staying in the role for a second series , claiming that he was scared of being typecast . On 4 April they admitted that this statement had been made without consulting the actor , and were forced to apologise . Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post in 2010 , Eccleston denied that he left due to fear of being typecast . He stated that he " didn 't enjoy the environment and the culture that we , the cast and crew , had to work in " and that he did not want to do any more based on the experience . He said , " I wasn 't comfortable . I thought ' If I stay in this job , I 'm going to have to blind myself to certain things that I thought were wrong . ' And I think it 's more important to be your own man than be successful , so I left . But the most important thing is that I did it , not that I left . I really feel that , because it kind of broke the mould and it helped to reinvent it . I 'm very proud of it . " According to the Sunday Mirror , an interview for BBC 's Doctor Who website that was taken down after his departure revealed that Eccleston had planned to stay for two or three more years . In March 2013 a source for the BBC indicated that Eccleston had discussed plans for Doctor Who 's 50th anniversary special , which aired in November 2013 , with Davies ' successor as executive producer , Steven Moffat . After consideration , he decided not to return to the series . Had he returned , his incarnation would have played the role that ultimately became the War Doctor , portrayed by John Hurt . 
