Doctor Who (series 1) months of speculation. In the April 2004 issue of "Doctor Who Magazine", Davies announced that Eccleston's Doctor would indeed be the Ninth Doctor, relegating Richard E. Grant's Shalka Doctor to non-official status. Russell T Davies revealed that Eccleston asked for the role in an e-mail. After the announcement that the show would be returning, Davies revealed that the new companion would "probably" be called Rose Tyler in an edition of "Doctor Who Magazine" published in November 2003. This name was confirmed in March 2004, and it was announced at the same time that former pop star Billie Piper was being
History of Doctor Who the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation leaked a rough cut of the premiere on the internet; the leak attracted much media attention and discussion amongst fans. Advance reviews in the British media were generally positive. "Rose" finally saw transmission on 26 March at 7 pm on BBC One, the first regular episode of "Doctor Who" for over 15 years. To complement the series, BBC Wales also produced "Doctor Who Confidential", a 13-part documentary series with each episode broadcast on BBC Three immediately after the end of the weekly instalment on BBC One. "Rose" received average overnight ratings of 9.9 million viewers, peaking