David Tennant Throwback Interview: "It Doesn't Make Me Any Less Scottish Because I'm Not Using My Scottish Accent"

One of the most talked about aspects of Gracepoint, the new FOX TV remake of Broadchurch, has been David Tennant taking on an American accent to play the role of Emmett Carver.

However, David was addressing the same issue back in 2006 when he was cast as the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who and replaced his native Scottish accent with an Estuary English one. In an interview from back then, now published in full for the first time by Scotland’s Daily Record, he said,

"When Russell came to me, that was how he asked me to play it. I wouldn't say I was disappointed, it's just what I was asked to do. I've always thought that part of working as an actor was to take on different accents.

"It doesn't make me any less Scottish because I'm not using my Scottish accent.

"It didn't bother me in particular, but it was a nice chance to do one episode where the Doctor came up with the idea of slipping into a Scottish accent which, remarkably, the Doctor can do!"

The original idea was that when the Doctor regenerated, he would pick up Rose’s accent as the first person he spoke to.

"It was like a chick imprinting on someone when it comes out of an egg," David explained. However the scene was never filmed.

The then series showrunner Russell T. Davies explained that the question of the accent came out of the development process for the character. "I didn't ban the accent,” he said. “It was just part of the creation of David's Doctor. We talked about the costume, as, for example, we didn't say David would have to wear the suit. It was just a cast of human beings coming together and talking about things."

Click here to read the full interview, view photos of David as the Doctor and take a Doctor Who quiz