Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special 2013 [VIDEO]: Christopher Eccleston Turned Down 9th Doctor Role in November Episode, Wrote Letter - 'I Love the Doctor'

Ninth Doctor actor Christopher Eccleston was briefly rumored to be reprising his role alongside his successors David Tennant and Matt Smith in the upcoming "Doctor Who" 50^th anniversary special. Those rumors were quickly disproved, but now we have a new letter that Eccleston wrote saying that he didn't turn down the role for the wrong reasons.

The British Film Institute has been running a special monthly celebration of all of the Doctors who appeared on "Doctor Who" over the years, and Eccleston's number Nine was celebrated this week. Though he could not attend the event, he sent the following letter to the event, which was read to the all those in attendance.

He said: "I love the BFI. I love the Doctor and hope you enjoy this presentation.

"Joe Ahearne directed five of the 13 episodes of the first series. He understood the tone the show needed completely - strong, bold, pacy visuals coupled with wit, warmth and a twinkle in the performances, missus.

"If Joe agrees to direct the 100th anniversary special, I will bring my sonic and a stair-lift and - providing the Daleks don't bring theirs - I, the Ninth Doctor, vow to save the universe and all you apes in it."

When the 50^th anniversary special was in pre-production, Eccleston was confirmed as one of the Doctors who would not return for the adventure.

An official source said: "Chris met with Steven Moffat a couple of times to talk about Steven's plans for the Doctor Who 50th anniversary episode. After careful thought, Chris decided not to be in the episode. He wishes the team all the best."

Check out this brief interview with Christopher talking a bit about the 50th anniversary:

His companion, Rose Tyler (played by Billie Piper), is returning though considering she was a huge part of the show's return to television and was David Tennant's companion as well.

Current showrunner Steven Moffat recently explained Rose Tyler's importance to the series:

"It was Billie Piper who brought it back. I think those first two years, that was Billie Piper's show. It was all about Billie, and Billie as Rose. Russell [T. Davies] was so clever in creating that character and casting that character so perfectly...[Davis] allowed an audience who would not naturally have watched Doctor Who, which was practically everybody at the time, to find a way into the show, so she has an iconic status partly because it was a brilliant performance and a brilliantly written part but it was also the way back in...She has a bigger status than most of those companions and really seriously, for the first two years, that was Billie Piper's show."