'Doctor Who' fans delighted as the Doctor regenerates as ... David Tennant - CNN

CNN  — 

“Doctor Who” fans were drenched successful nostalgia aft David Tennant reprised his relation arsenic the Time Lord successful the melodramatic decision to the show’s BBC centenary special.

Sunday’s 90-minute occurrence of the long-running sci-fi show, titled “The Power of the Doctor,” ended with Jodie Whittaker’s quality unexpectedly regenerating into Tennant successful her last quality arsenic the 13th Doctor.

“I cognize these teeth,” Tennant said – a notation to the 10th Doctor’s archetypal words – “New teeth… that’s weird” – backmost successful 2005.

The unexpected crippled twist came aft months of speculation connected however Whittaker’s exit would beryllium handled ahead of Ncuti Gatwa replacing her arsenic lead, and delighted viewers flocked to societal media to explicit their excitement.

“Omg, David Tennant backmost arsenic the doctor, champion regeneration ever,” 1 idiosyncratic wrote connected Twitter.

Another said: “9 twelvemonth aged maine who sobbed for a week erstwhile David Tennant regenerated is throwing a f**king enactment close now.”

A 3rd wrote: “Seeing David Tennant backmost connected surface arsenic the doc has somewhat healed my interior child.”

Tennant told BBC News: “What a lovely, beauteous happening to get to revisit thing that was specified a wonderful, happy, important clip successful my life.”

After the amusement aired, the BBC released a teaser for adjacent year’s 60th-anniversary episodes, which diagnostic the Scottish actor, who played the Doctor betwixt 2005 and 2010, arsenic the 14th incarnation. The clip besides confirmed that Catherine Tate volition beryllium reprising her relation arsenic his erstwhile companion, Donna Noble, for 3 peculiar episodes acceptable to aerial successful November adjacent year.

Ncuti Gatwa volition past instrumentality power of the TARDIS arsenic the 15th Doctor, with his archetypal occurrence owed to aerial implicit the festive play successful 2023, the BBC said.

“If you thought the quality of David Tennant was a shock, we’ve got plentifulness much surprises connected the way!” said showrunner Russell T. Davies successful a statement. “The way to Ncuti’s Fifteenth Doctor is laden with mystery, horror, robots, puppets, information and fun! And however is it connected to the instrumentality of the fantastic Donna Noble? How, what, why? We’re giving you a twelvemonth to speculate, and past each hellhole lets loose!”

Whittaker, who made past successful 2017 erstwhile she succeeded Peter Capaldi to go the archetypal pistillate to play the Doctor, announced her exit successful July past year.

Commenting connected her determination to measurement down, Whittaker said her clip connected the amusement was “the champion occupation I person ever had.”