David Tennant is a major part of Doctor Who lore. The lovable Tennant is considered by many to be not only their favorite Doctor in the New Who, but possibly of all the Doctors to ever journey aboard the TARDIS. For some fans, Tennant is the epitome of what the Doctor should be.

Now, try to imagine Doctor Who without Tennant. Try to imagine someone else as the Tenth Doctor, going through the heartbreak of losing Rose, travelling through time and space with Donna and Martha. Well, if David Tennant’s father had gotten his way, then the beloved Tenth Doctor would have been portrayed by someone else entirely.

See, if David Tennant’s father had gotten his way, then that would have been the reality of Doctor Who. When Tennant earned a special recognition award at the National Television Awards, he dedicated the prize to his father, Reverend Sandy McDonald. Naturally, this led to a lot of interest as to who McDonald was, and the desire to get a soundbite from the proud father.

Through that desire to learn more of Tennant’s father, and from a post that McDonald made on the website of his church, the Church of Scotland, it is learned that McDonald and his wife wanted their son to find something “more permanent than acting,” and that they wanted him to study English due to his skills as a writer. It seems strange that being a writer is considered to be a steadier career than being an actor, at least for some people.

Fortunately, David Tennant ignored that fatherly advice. While it was made with the best intentions and a desire to see Tennant succeed, he has managed to achieve his dream of being on television. He even got to play the part of his beloved Doctor, and married Georgia Moffett, the daughter of the Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison. He has gotten far more from Doctor Who than perhaps any other fan alive.

Imagine a Doctor Who without David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. Fortunately, that is not something that we had to experience.