DAVID TENNANT - DAVID TENNANT 'WILL BE FIT' FOR FINAL DOCTOR WHO SPECIALS

DAVID TENNANT 'WILL BE FIT' FOR FINAL DOCTOR WHO SPECIALS

Despite having back surgery earlier this month, David Tennant is expected to be fit to resume filming a Doctor Who special in January.

An "ongoing back injury" forced Tennant to withdraw from the Royal Shakespeare Company's (RSC) production of Hamlet until after Christmas and it was feared he may not have recovered sufficiently to begin shooting Doctor Who on January 19th.

However, executive producer Russell T Davies said he was "hopeful" the Scottish actor would be ready to film the first of his final four appearances as the Time Lord.

"We'll have to be very careful," he said. "I don't think we'll be swinging him on a wire on his first day back."

However, Davies stressed there had been no attempts to rewrite the script to accommodate Tennant's injuries.

"No, there's been none of that, and I think David would have told us by now because he's read the first script," he added.

Following this year's Doctor Who Christmas special, Tennant will appear in four special episodes before stepping away from the Tardis.

Speaking at the press launch of the show's Christmas special, Davies said each of the 2009 editions would feature a different companion with Tennant's two final stories broadcast "toward the end of next year".

"The big climax is mine, all mine," he added.

Though he refused to name any names, Davies admitted the producers of the 2010 series of Doctor Who had begun "auditioning or looking" for a new Time Lord.

"I think it could be a while - it's a very big deal to set up. Whoever becomes the Doctor has got to take on a whole life. It's not just becoming a part of a TV show," he said.