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
Doctor Who Following the success of the 2005 series produced by Russell T Davies, the BBC commissioned Davies to produce a 13-part spin-off series titled "Torchwood" (an anagram of "Doctor Who"), set in modern-day Cardiff and investigating alien activities and crime. The series debuted on BBC Three on 22 October 2006. John Barrowman reprised his role of Jack Harkness from the 2005 series of "Doctor Who". Two other actresses who appeared in Doctor Who also star in the series; Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper, who also played the similarly named servant girl Gwyneth in the 2005 "Doctor Who" episode "The Unquiet Dead",