David Tennant David Tennant ( born David John McDonald on 18 April 1971 ) , is a Scottish actor and voice actor who portrayed the Tenth Doctor from 2005 - 2010 , taking over the role of the Doctor from Christopher Eccleston at the conclusion of " The Parting of the Ways " . His final regular appearance in the role in " The End of Time " , a special two - part story that concluded on New Year ' s Day 2010 , after which Matt Smith took over the role of the Doctor . Prior to playing the Doctor , Tennant also portrayed several characters in various Big Finish Audio Adventures . Biography . Before " Doctor Who " . David grew up in Ralston , Renfrewshire , where his father was the local minister , and later Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland . At the age of three , David told his parents that he wanted to become an actor , largely because of his early enjoyment of " Doctor Who " . Although such an aspiration might have been common for a Scottish child of the 1970s , Tennant says he was " absurdly single - minded " in pursuing his goal . He adopted the professional name " Tennant " — inspired by Neil Tennant , the lead singer of the Pet Shop Boys — because the actors ' union Equity already had a David McDonald on their books . Moving to London in the early 1990s , Tennant lodged with comic actress and writer Arabella Weir , with whom he became close friends and later godfather to one of her children . He appeared as a guest in her spoof television series " Posh Nosh " . Tennant began his career in the British theatre , frequently performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company for which he specialised in comic roles such as Touchstone in " As You Like It " , Antipholus of Syracuse in " The Comedy of Errors " and Captain Jack Absolute in " The Rivals " , although he also played the tragic role of Romeo in " Romeo and Juliet " . He has appeared in several high - profile dramas for the BBC , including " Takin ' Over the Asylum " , ( 1994 ) a six part BBC Scotland serial in which he played a manic depressive named Campbell , " He Knew He Was Right " ( 2004 ) , " Blackpool " ( 2004 ) , " Casanova " ( 2005 ) and " The Quatermass Experiment " ( 2005 ) . In film , he has appeared in Stephen Fry ' s " Bright Young Things " , and as in " Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire " , alongside Roger Lloyd Pack who played John Lumic in Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel , and Michael Gambon . One of his earliest big screen roles was in " Jude " ( 1996 ) , in which he shared a scene with his " Doctor Who " predecessor Christopher Eccleston , playing a drunken undergraduate who challenges Eccleston ' s Jude to prove his intellect . Initial " Doctor Who " roles . He has lent his voice to several supporting characters in Big Finish audio plays based on the 1963 version of " Doctor Who " . He was also a minor participant to the first " official " Ninth Doctor story , the BBC animated webcast " Scream of the Shalka " . Not originally cast in the production , Tennant happened to be recording a radio play in a neighbouring studio and , when he discovered what was being recorded next door , managed to convince the director to give him a small role . He also played the title role in Big Finish ' s adaptation of Bryan Talbot ' s " The Adventures of Luther Arkwright " ( 2005 ) . Playing the Doctor . Tennant ' s name was suggested by tabloid newspapers as a possible candidate to take on the role of the Ninth Doctor for the new series that began in March 2005 , although he was never considered for or auditioned for the role itself , and the role went to Christopher Eccleston . He got a chance to have a peripheral connection to the series when he narrated a prelude episode of " Doctor Who Confidential " that aired prior to the broadcast of " Rose " . With Eccleston ' s announcement on 30 March that he would not be returning for a second series , the BBC confirmed Tennant as his replacement in a press release on 16 April . An oblique reference to his casting , however , had already been made in the live broadcast of " The Quatermass Experiment " on 2 April , in which Tennant appeared as Dr Briscoe . As his castmates had become aware of the speculation surrounding Tennant ' s possible casting in " Doctor Who " during rehearsals , actor Jason Flemyng changed Quatermass ' s first line to Dr Briscoe from " Good to have you back Gordon " to " Good to have you back Doctor " . He made his first , brief appearance in the episode " The Parting of the Ways " ( 2005 ) after the regeneration scene , and also appeared in a special 7 - minute mini - episode shown as part of the 2005 Children in Need appeal , broadcast on 18 November 2005 ( coincidentally the same day " Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire " , in which he played Barty Crouch Jr . , was released to theatres ) . While Eccleston holds the distinction of being the first man to play the Doctor not even born when the series premiered , Tennant is the first Doctor who was not even conceived , as Eccleston was born during the first season . Tennant began filming the new series of " Doctor Who " in late July 2005 . His first full - length outing as the Doctor was a 60 - minute special , " The Christmas Invasion " , which was broadcast on Christmas Day 2005 , and followed by " Attack of the Graske " , a special interactive story available to BBC Red Button subscribers . He was also seen in early December in the ITV drama " Secret Smile " . In December 2005 , " The Stage " newspaper listed Tennant at # 6 in its " Top Ten " listing of the most influential UK television artists of the year , citing his roles in " Blackpool " , " Casanova " , " Secret Smile " and " Doctor Who " . Unlike his predecessor , Christopher Eccleston , who confessed to having only a passing interest in the 1963 version of " Doctor Who " , Tennant is a long - time fan of the series , and has exhibited extensive knowledge of its history and trivia in interviews , podcasts and DVD commentaries . In March 2009 he gave a demonstration of his knowledge of the franchise during a mock edition of " Mastermind " for the BBC ' s Comic Relief Red Nose Day telethon . He has often expressed enthusiasm about fulfilling his childhood dream . He remarked to an interviewer for GWR FM , " Who wouldn ' t want to be the Doctor ? I ' ve even got my own TARDIS ! " Like Peter Davison before him , Tennant was knowledgeable enough about the program to ask for his character to be credited as " The Doctor " instead of " Doctor Who " , as had been done during Eccleston ' s tenure . Along with Colin Baker , he also has the distinction of being the only Doctor actor to provide DVD commentary for " another " Doctor ' s story when he recorded a special " Easter egg " commentary for the DVD Special Edition release of " The Five Doctors " . Outside the TV series itself , Tennant is a ubiquitous presence on various ancillary productions related to " Doctor Who " , and it is not inaccurate to suggest he might be one of the most accessible actors to ever play the Doctor . He has regularly appeared in " Doctor Who Confidential " — a program for which he also notably picked up his first television directing credit , the episode " Do You Remember the First Time ? " - and in fact has conducted a number of the interviews for the program himself . He was the narrator for " " , the effective pilot for " Confidential " , and an occasional guest on " Totally Doctor Who " . He also recorded extensive behind the scenes video diaries of his work on " Doctor Who " , which became highlights of the Series 2 and 3 DVD box sets . On some of the Series 3 - related video diaries , he recruited his then - girlfriend Sophia Myles to handle the camera . He only recorded two for the Series 4 set , but recorded more for the 2009 Specials DVD Box Set , released in early 2010 , relating to his final episodes . He has provided various video content for both the BBC ' s " Doctor Who " website , mainly in the form of short question - and - answer sessions . He has also taken part in licensed spin - off productions , recording audio - book readings of several BBC Books novels , as well as narrating several original audio books for BBC Audiobooks . Technically speaking , Tennant has actually played four roles in the televised " Doctor Who " : The tenth incarnation of the Doctor , Cassandra O ' Brien . Δ17 when she briefly takes over the Doctor ' s body ( TV : " New Earth " ) , John Smith who may be technically the Doctor but is depicted in the episodes " Human Nature " and " The Family of Blood " as a completely different personality , and most recently a clone of the Doctor , referred to as the Meta - Crisis Tenth Doctor . He has also parodied the Doctor on several occasions , such as in a Comic Relief skit with future companion Catherine Tate , a Dead Ringers skit in which he portrayed a " regenerated " Tony Blair , and as the Doctor himself in the final episode of " Extras " . His guest appearances on general entertainment programmes like " The Friday Night Project " and " Jonathan Ross " have also usually contained elements of " Doctor Who " parody . In January 2006 , Tennant took a one - day break from shooting " Doctor Who " to play Richard Hoggart in a dramatisation of the 1960 " Lady Chatterley ' s Lover " obscenity trial . Written by Andrew Davies and directed by " < nowiki > Doctor Who ' < / nowiki > " s James Hawes for digital television channel BBC Four , Hoggart ' s son Simon Hoggart praised Tennant ' s portrayal in the drama in " The Guardian " newspaper . " [ E ] xtremely convincing — the suit , the hair , the Yorkshire accent , and trickiest of all , the speech rhythms . The only thing wrong is his sideburns . To do this film he had to take 24 hours off from making " Doctor Who " in Cardiff and , as he explained , the sideburns wouldn ' t grow back in a day . " Also in January 2006 , readers of the British gay and lesbian newspaper voted Tennant the " Sexiest Man in the Universe " over David Beckham and Brad Pitt . Tennant has also on several occasions unseated perennial favourite Tom Baker in the " Favourite Doctor " category in recent polls conducted by " Doctor Who Magazine " . In 2007 it was announced that , rather than air a full season in 2009 , a series of specials would instead be broadcast , with the series returning as a weekly offering in 2010 . This led to Tennant signing on to star in a production of " Hamlet " , opposite Patrick Stewart . In 2008 rumours began circulating as to whether Tennant would continue in " Doctor Who " . This was finally confirmed on 29 October 2008 when Tennant , upon winning the 2008 National Television Award for favourite actor , announced that he would be leaving " Doctor Who " after the 2009 specials . It was subsequently announced that 26 - year old Matt Smith would take on the role from 2010 . Tennant spent the last part of 2008 preparing to play Hamlet , although his run was interrupted due to a serious spinal injury that necessitated major surgery . By January 2009 he had recovered and commenced filming the first of his final four special episodes . It was subsequently announced that Tennant would recreate his stage performance as Hamlet for a planned television broadcast / theatrical release . Tennant filmed his final scenes for " Doctor Who " as the Doctor on Wednesday 20 May 2009 , and gave an emotional farewell to cast and crew that was captured for both " Doctor Who Confidential " and Tennant ' s own Video Diaries DVD supplement . Despite the emotion of the moment , Tennant noted in his Video Diaries that his final scene - a green screen shot - made it less emotional for him than his regeneration scene , which had actually been filmed a week earlier . Also , the day after bidding farewell to " Doctor Who " , Tennant briefly reprised the role to film a series of short holiday - themed promos for BBC One . It was later announced he would play the role one last time in " The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith " , a two - part episode of " The Sarah Jane Adventures " . Tennant also signed up to voice the Doctor for a second animated serial , " Dreamland " , which aired in late 2009 , and continued to record original audio adventures for BBC Audio , the last of which was released in March 2010 . He also appeared , as himself , in a Doctor Who skit involving John Barrowman broadcast during the series " Tonight ' s the Night " . In the summer of 2009 , Tennant became the first lead actor from " Doctor Who " to appear at the San Diego Comic Con . Despite his final appearance in " Doctor Who " concluding in the New Year ' s Day 2010 episode , Tennant appeared in the subsequent episode , Matt Smith ' s first full episode as the Eleventh Doctor , " The Eleventh Hour " , which featured a sequence of " flashback " clips showing all previous Doctors . During his time as the Doctor , Tennant also guest - hosted and guest - starred on many other BBC programs . He was featured on " Top Gear " , where he was discovered to be . 7 seconds slower on the racetrack than Billie Piper - though he claimed that she cut corners , and also that he had problems with the 3rd gear of manual transmission . He was a guest on " Ready , Steady , Cook " , in which he competed with his father , Sandy . He was a contestant on a Christmas episode of " QI " , where his theme song was " " Last Christmas " " by " Wham ! " and he co - hosted Comic Relief 2009 alongside Davina McCall . He was a guest host on Friday Night Project on two occasions , one opposite Freema Agyeman , and hosted a special Christmas edition of " Never Mind the Buzzcocks " , which featured fellow " Doctor Who " actors Catherine Tate and Bernard Cribbins , during which he revealed that he is a fan of Coldplay . In 2013 , Tennant reprised his role as the Tenth Doctor in the 50th anniversary Special " The Day of the Doctor " , and also appeared in various promotional videos . After " Doctor Who " . Tennant ' s first post - Who assignment was to film a movie version of his " Hamlet " production , opposite Patrick Stewart . This aired on BBC Two on 26 December 2009 , the day after the first part of " The End of Time " , Tennant ' s last appearance , aired , and on American network PBS on 28 April 2010 and in addition to the fall of 2009 , Tennant began hosting the PBS drama anthology series " Masterpiece Contemporary " in the US . Although fan and media rumours linked Tennant to other high - profile projects , such as the Peter Jackson - produced adaptation of " The Hobbit " , most of these rumours were denied by Tennant or not confirmed . At the July 2009 San Diego ComicCon , Tennant indicated he had major projects under consideration , but did not elaborate . Also in July , it was announced that Tennant would be appearing in " St . Trinian ' s : The Secret of Fritton ' s Gold " , the second film in the rebooted Trinian ' s franchise . The film also features two of Tennant ' s " Doctor Who " guest stars : Fenella Woolgar and Talulah Riley . He was also cast to co - star with Simon Pegg in the upcoming film , " Burke and Hare " , but had to drop out shortly before filming began , reportedly due to NBC refusing to release him from his contract for " Rex Is Not Your Lawyer . " In November 2009 it was announced that Tennant would star in the for NBC , " Rex is Not Your Lawyer " , a comedic law drama . This makes Tennant the first Doctor actor to be given a lead role in an American TV series after leaving " Doctor Who " . In reporting his casting , the " Hollywood Reporter " compared the situation to Hugh Laurie moving from UK comedy series like " Blackadder " to American superstardom on " House " . The pilot , which paired Tennant with fellow science fiction TV alumnus Jerry O ' Connell ( " Sliders " ) , was filmed between early November and mid December 2009 . In late January , it was reported that Rex had not been picked up as a spring replacement , something that was never suggested as a realistic option , but was still under consideration for a fall 2010 pickup , something which led the tabloid press to wrongly report the project had been shelved . It was reported on January 24 , 2010 , that the sets had been dismantled and stored , and that the show had not been picked up for spring 2010 . It was also passed over for the fall 2010 schedule . In September 2010 , in an interview at the Emmy Awards , Tennant confirmed the project was " dead . " In 2010 , Tennant filmed the TV drama series " Single Father " and three films , " The Decoy Bride , Fright Night , " and " United " . In " Single Father " , which was shot in Scotland between March and May and screened on BBC1 in October , he played a father of five children struggling to cope after the death of his partner . " The Decoy Bride " was filmed in June and July in Scotland and on the Isle of Man and stars Tennant as the fiancé of a Hollywood movie star who falls for the local girl hired to be a ' decoy ' to distract the paparazzo . Tennant was in New Mexico between August and October filming " Fright Night " , a remake of the cult 80s horror film , in which he plays vampire hunter Peter Vincent , a part originated by Roddy McDowall . In October , he flew to Uganda to shoot a charity film for Comic Relief . In November and December Tennant filmed " United " in Newcastle , a drama about the 1958 Munich plane crash in which he stars as Manchester United coach Jimmy Murphy . All three films were released in 2011 , though " The Decoy Bride " did not gain a wide release until 2012 , when it went straight to cable TV . Also in 2010 , he voiced the role of Spitelout , a minor character in " How to Train Your Dragon " . Tennant is the narrator for the audio book series of " How To Train Your Dragon . " In January 2011 Tennant announced that he and his Doctor Who co - star Catherine Tate would be starring in a theatre production of " Much Ado About Nothing " , which ran at the Wyndham ' s Theatre in London between May and September 2011 ( Tennant ' s close friend and Doctor Who alumnus Adam James also co - starred ) . During the months he was performing in the play , he also recorded a guest appearance in Sky sitcom " This Is Jinsy " ( a role he took because his good friend Jennie Fava , who 2nd ADed on both " Doctor Who " and " This Is Jinsy " , recommended it to him ) , voiceover roles in two animated films and one animated TV series , an 8 - hour BBC Radio 4 drama series , and multiple radio and TV narration projects . Two days after his final performance of " Much Ado " , filming started in Margate on his next project , a BBC TV series called " True Love , " which also co - stars David Morrissey and Billie Piper . On 4 October , three days after Tennant finished filming " True Love " , he started production in Coventry on the comedy film sequel " Nativity 2 " , which also co - stars Ian McNeice as Tennant ' s father . He filmed on " Nativity 2 " in Coventry , Warwickshire and north Wales until 29 November . The next day , he started filming a BBC documentary , " Prefaces to Shakespeare " , in London and Stratford - upon - Avon . In 2011 , Tennant " appeared " in a cameo as himself in the Buffyverse " " comic " " . In January 2011 , UK newspapers reported that he was engaged and planning a 2012 wedding to Georgia Moffett , who starred opposite him in the 2008 episode " The Doctor ' s Daughter " , and that she was pregnant with the couple ' s first child . On 31 March , UK newspapers reported that Moffett had given birth to a daughter , Olive , earlier that week . Neither Tennant nor Moffett themselves have ever spoken about or confirmed their relationship publicly and they avoid being photographed together . On 2 September 2011 he changed his name legally by deed poll from his birth name of McDonald to his stage name Tennant , and his soon - to - be wife changed her and her son from a previous relationship ' s surnames to Tennant also . The couple are reported to have married in a secret ceremony on 30 December 2011 , and no details or photos from the event have ever been released . Tennant confirmed on the 21 March 2012 that he had adopted Moffett ' s 10 - year old son Ty , making this the first time he has spoken about his private life since starting to date Moffett . In January 2013 it was confirmed on the Jonathan Ross Show that Moffett was pregnant again . She gave birth to a boy named Wilfred on 2nd May . In 2012 , Tennant played a role in the one - off Sky Arts drama " The Minor Character " , and continued to excel as a voice actor , playing roles in numerous audio books , radio plays , and other voice jobs . He also became the face of Virgin Media . He spent April - June in Poland filming the BBC4 WWII - set spy drama miniseries " Spies of Warsaw " ( which also co - stars Burn Gorman ) . In June and July he filmed the BBC2 political drama miniseries " The Politician ' s Husband " in London , playing a Cabinet minister who takes extreme lengths when his wife ' s career threatens to overshadow him . In August 2012 he visited Los Angeles to appear at the TCA event , promoting " The Spies of Warsaw . " On 4 August he started work on his first TV series regular role since leaving " Doctor Who " , in the new ITV1 detective series " Broadchurch " , which filmed in Bristol and Dorset until December . In August it was also announced that Tennant would be hosting a panel game show for C4 , titled " Comedy World Cup , " his first time hosting a TV series other than as a guest host . He shot both series concurrently , filming " Broadchurch " in Bristol during the week and travelling to London on weekends to record " Comedy World Cup " . On 9 September 2012 he made his first proper " Doctor Who " fan convention appearance , at the " Lords of Time " convention in Birmingham . On 16 December 2012 , he appeared at the " Midnight " Convention also in Birmingham , alongside Billie Piper . In January 2013 Tennant recorded several audio books and radio plays , some TV commercials , and did publicity for " Broadchurch " and " Spies of Warsaw " . It was also announced Tennant would be returning to the Royal Shakespeare Company to play the titular role in Richard II . Between January - April Tennant shot the BBC1 thriller series " The Escape Artist " , playing a top lawyer who gets a murderer off on a technicality , but comes to regret it . Between April - May he filmed the " Doctor Who " 50th anniversary special , " The Day of the Doctor " in Cardiff , reprising his role as the Tenth Doctor . Between June - August he shot the BBC comedy feature film " What We Did On Our Holiday " in Scotland . Between August 2013 - January 2014 he played Richard II for the Royal Shakespeare Company . The day after the final Richard II performance , Tennant flew to Canada , where he spent five months filming the Fox series " Gracepoint " , the US remake of " Broadchurch " . He started work on series 2 of " Broadchurch " ( which filmed on location in Dorset , Devon and North Somerset late May - October ) two days after returning to the UK . In July he simultaneously worked on Broadchurch and a short film titled " 96 Ways to Say I Love You " , shooting the short on weekends and his days off from Broadchurch . In October he spent time in LA and NY , doing a promotional press tour for Gracepoint and auditioning for roles . In January 2015 he won a Special Recognition Award at the NTAs . Between February and August , he was in New York shooting the lead role of villain Kilgrave / The Purple Man on the Marvel / Netflix TV series Jessica Jones . During this time , he appeared at two American fan conventions , at Wizard World Raleigh in North Carolina in March , and with Billie Piper at Philadelphia Comic Con in May . In April he attended the White House Correspondents ' Dinner in Washington DC , his wife Georgia Moffett travelling from England to accompany him to the prestigious event . In August , the day after his return from New York , he travelled to Cardiff for several days where he visited the Doctor Who set with Russell T Davies . He spent much of November in New York , doing a promotional tour for Jessica Jones . In November 2015 , he announced on " The Jonathan Ross Show " that his wife had recently given birth to another daughter , her fourth child . In December 2015 he attended Comic Con Brazil in São Paulo . In January 2016 Tennant reprised his role in Richard II for the RSC ' s ' King and Country ' season ( all four history plays performed together ) at the Barbican . In February 2016 he shot ' Mad to be Normal ' , a feature film biopic about RD Laing , in York . In March and April , Richard II transferred to New York . During this time he attended Wizard World convention in St Louis , alongside Billie Piper . He also presented a BBC special marking the 400th anniversary of the death of Shakespeare . In May he began shooting Broadchurch series 3 in Dorset . Between March and June 2017 , Tennant appeared in Patrick Marber ' s " Don Juan in Soho " at the Wyndham ' s Theatre . Also in 2017 , he took over as the voice of Scrooge McDuck for Disney XD ' s " DuckTales " reboot , replacing the character ' s longtime voice actor Alan Young , who died in May 2016 . Other DWU appearances . " Dalek Empire " . As Galanar