Christopher Eccleston has opened up about his decision to leave Doctor Who after one series back in 2005, and the subsequent ramifications for his career that taking the role had.

In an interview to promote his upcoming appearance as Macbeth in Stratford, that starts at the RSC tomorrow, he candidly revealed that “what happened around Doctor Who almost destroyed my career”.

He went on to explain to The Guardian that “I gave them a hit show and I left with dignity and then they put me on a blacklist. I was carrying my own insecurities as it was something I had never done before and then I was abandoned, vilified in the tabloid press and blacklisted”.

“I was told by my agent at the time ‘the BBC regime is against you. You’re going to have to get out of the country and wait for regime change’”, which is why Eccleston then went off to pursue projects in the US (citing the work ethic instilled in him by his family), before returning in recent times and tackling a bunch of ever-interesting projects.

The full interview is well worth a read, and you can find it here.