UPDATE: Colin Baker has denied the story. In response to a tweet regarding the rumour, he replied: “Wish I could [tell you it was true] but alas apart from The Big Finish plans I am not aware of any 50th stories nor have I been approached.”

ORIGINAL STORY:

A news report is circulating today claiming that Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary will indeed see the return of all Eleven Doctors, using “studio trickery” to bring back the first three.

The Birmingham Mail states:

Show boss Steven Moffat is close to completing a script which will see the current Doctor, Matt Smith, needing the assistance of ALL his police box predecessors – even if three of them have died. The half-century special, to be broadcast in November, will use studio trickery to resurrect the first three Doctors – William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee – in brief flashback scenes. Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann have all signed up to record an anniversary audio adventure, and are keen to appear in the historic TV show, too. Christopher Eccleston is said to be reconsidering an earlier decision not to take part, and David Tennant – a friend of Moffat – has hinted that he has been invited to reprise his role. The final key to the special was Eccleston, who had previously said that he had no plans to return to the role but recently conceded he believed he “still had more to do with the character”. But companions such as Birmingham’s Arthur Darvill (Rory), Karen Gillan (Amy Pond), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler) and Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones) have all indicated that they are not involved. There may, however, be a role for Alex Kingston, who plays the Doctor’s wife and who may be responsible for bringing all the previous incarnations together – against the Time Lord’s wishes.

Now it’s important to remember that there has been no official confirmation from the BBC, so this should still be treated like any other rumour. There’s very little concrete information here and it appears speculative for the most part. Still, the prospect remains tantalising…