Eccleston's casting came as a surprise. He has a reputation for playing heavy dramatic roles. We rather expected a comedian to get the job. Eddie Izzard was the front runner.

But Eccleston has range. The one episode I've seen gave him opportunites to crack jokes, shed tears and (of course) heroically save the day.

But he's only signed on for twelve episodes- after which he will hand over to someone else- so we mustn't let ourselves get too attached to him.