David Tennant has spoken about the surprising inspiration behind iconic Doctor Who costume.

During his 2006-2010 tenure (and brief 2023 return), Tennant's Doctor was best known for a pinstripe suit paired with Converse All-Stars, with a duster coat sometimes worn for good measure.

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James Pardon//BBC


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Appearing on the latest episode of the Off Menu podcast, hosts Ed Gamble and James Acaster told Tennant that their friend, comedy writer Tom Neenan, spoke to Tennant at a train station back in the day whilst he was wearing a "safari-looking suit", which the actor complimented. A few months after that meeting, Tennant appears as The Doctor, wearing a similar suit.

While Tennant politely said that he might have been "subconsciously" been influenced by that meeting, he actually pinched the look from someone else.

"I know where I got the suit idea from," he explained. "Jamie Oliver was on Parkinson wearing a suit with trainers and looking really cool. It's not that I copied that suit, but that's where the idea came from."

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BBC

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It wasn't the only look that was tried out, as Tennant recalled "endless meetings" and "back and forth" about the Tenth Doctor's appearance.

Before they settled on the Oliver fit, Tennant and the Who team "went to a sort of costume house and just tried everything on."

The actor said he was "very pleased" with his Doctor's outfit, and also praised how good current Doctor Ncuti Gatwa looks in his various outfits.

Doctor Who will return on April 12 to BBC One in the UK and Disney+ elsewhere. Classic episodes of Doctor Who are available on BBC iPlayer in the UK.

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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.