Christopher Eccleston has revealed that he once threatened legal action against the BBC following his departure from Doctor Who.

Star of movies such as 28 Days Later and Thor: The Dark World, Eccleston portrayed the ninth Doctor for one single series during the show's revival in 2005. The actor has now divulged some behind the scenes information about the aftermath of his exit.

BBC

Speaking to Jo Whiley and Simon Mayo on BBC Radio 2, Christopher was candid about what happened at the end of his sole series of Doctor Who.

"I made an agreement that I would say nothing about my departure, and I honoured that, because I was looking after the production," he said. "And then the BBC issued a statement, they put a quote from me that they had written saying why I'd left, because I was tired, which any producer reading that [would think] 'Well we won't give Chris Eccleston a job because he gets tired'."

Not one to back down, Eccleston then shared: "So I threatened legal action and I got an apology printed in all the newspapers. The BBC had to make a statement apologising for attributing quotes to me. Nobody will go on record as saying this but my agent said 'You need to get out of town because you're not going to work'."

BBC

Related: Christopher Eccleston says Doctor Who exit almost destroyed his career

Eccleston has previously spoken about his bruising experience on the hit show, and it seems that his departure was much more tumultuous than fans might initially think.

"I kept my word and they didn't keep their word, so I took them to court," he elaborated.

If there's one lesson to take from this, it's don't mess with the Time Lord.

Jodie Whittaker's Doctor Who continues this Sunday (November 18) on BBC One.

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