Christopher Eccleston has always been outspoken about his time on the popular and long-running series Doctor Who. Regardless, now he’s written a book that’s an autobiography and that details his struggle with anorexia, particularly during his time filming Doctor Who.
Back in 2005, when the BBC brought back a revival of Doctor Who, Christopher Eccleston played the ninth incarnation of The Doctor. Eccleston only appeared in one series as The Doctor, and now says he was struggling with anorexia the entire time, noting,
The illness is still there raging within me as the Doctor. People love the way I look in that series, but I was very ill. The reward for that illness was the part. And therein lies the perpetuation of the whole sorry situation.
In his new book, I Love the Bones of You: My Father and the Making of Me, (via Variety) Christopher Eccleston talks about his journey into adulthood and how that was always marked by anorexia, but that he kept it a secret and was ashamed of the issues he faced, due to being “make” and “working class.” He called his struggle with anorexia a "lifelong" issue and reveals he was not happy with himself even during peaks in his acting career.
The actor continued to deal with anorexia even after he was a successful actor and detailed hardships on the set of Doctor Who. This isn’t the first time Christopher Eccleston has brought up his time as The Doctor.
Previously, the actor has detailed experiences with the show and he hasn’t had a ton of positive things to say about the experience, despite the fanbase seemingly liking him as The Doctor. (He even won a National Television Award and more at the time.) There was the time he said he felt he had to leave over creative differences. He’s also publicly spoken out about issues he had with the producing staff and more, issues that may have also led to him ultimately only playing the iconic character for one set of episodes.
Now, with this admission he was suffering from anorexia along with further admission that his marriage broke down and he started taking anti-depressants, Christopher Eccleston has gotten candid about his mental and physical health, particularly during his career in the limelight. If you’d like to know more, the new book drops on September 19, 2019.
As for Doctor Who, the show has gone through several incarnations of The Doctor in the time since Christopher Eccleston appeared on the show. The next series won't hit the schedule until 2020, although by now you are probably aware that Doctor Who is now a lady character who is played by Jodie Whittaker, the 13th iteration of The Doctor on the show since its beginning.
Christopher Eccleston is still acting, although he has no onscreen credits in the pipeline at this time. In 2018, he appeared in a TV version of King Lear, as well as the TV series Come Home, among other projects.
