Only four days after the return of the show, Eccleston made the decision not to return to star in a second series in order to avoid being "typecast" in the role. Instead, the 41-year-old, who is renowned for his roles in serious dramas, is reportedly keen to focus on his "artistic aspirations".

"We can confirm that he is not returning for the second series as the Doctor because he does not want to be typecast," said a spokeswoman for the BBC. "He is always looking for new challenges." It was not clear yesterday whether Billie Piper, who plays the Doctor's assistant, would appear in the second series. David Tennant, the actor starring in the drama Casanova, is in discussions with the BBC about becoming the new Doctor Who. Nearly 10 million people tuned into the first of a 13-part run of Doctor Who on BBC1 last weekend, making it the biggest audience for the programme since Tom Baker's heyday in the 1970s. The BBC announced yesterday that a second series had been commissioned. 

Russell T Davies was pleased at the commissioning of a second series as well as a Christmas special. He said: "It's fantastic news. It's been a tense and jittery time because the production team has been working on plans. We could all have ended up unemployed. But now we can put all those plans into action and get going."