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
Utopia (Doctor Who) Other actors returning to the franchise in this episode are Neil Reidman had previously played Tom Braudy in the Eighth Doctor audio drama "Memory Lane" and Robert Forknall, who plays Lord Byron in the Eighth Doctor audio drama "The Company of Friends". Chipo Chung, who played Chantho, would later go on to play the Fortuneteller in "Turn Left". Paul Marc Davis, who played the Futurekind chieftain, also returned to the "Doctor Who" universe, going on to play the role of The Trickster in "The Sarah Jane Adventures" stories "Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane", "The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith" and