David Tennant talks 'Doctor Who' 50th anniversary show

On those rare occasions when current and past stars of Doctor Who filmed episodes together the air has sometimes turned a tad chilly. But “Tenth Doctor” David Tennant says there were no such problems when, earlier this year, he and his TARDIS successor Matt Smith shot this November’s special 50th anniversary show.

“I suppose you’d expect me to say we’re new best friends and I love him like a brother,” the Scottish actor tells EW. “But that is sort of how it was. I had a fantastic time and that wouldn’t necessarily have been the case. I’m coming back onto a show that’s effectively somebody else’s show and used to be mine and that’s potentially quite a weird situation to be in. Going back to something I knew so well and had such fun memories of might have backfired. It’s a quite rare set of circumstances: Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig don’t get to play James Bond next to each other. But actually it felt familiar enough that it was like coming home and working with Matt proved to be a real joy. I hope I’m speaking for him when I say we really enjoyed bouncing of each other and playing sort of two aspects of the same character. It was everything that I hoped it might be and nothing that I feared it could be.”

The special 50th anniversary show — which also stars Jenna Coleman, Billie Piper, and John Hurt — will be broadcast on BBC America, Nov. 23. Tennant is currently starring in the BBC America crime drama Broadchurch, the trailer for which you can see below.