Facts

Early life & basics


  • David’s real name is David John McDonald.
  • He stole his name from Neil Tennant after looking through a “Smash Hits” magazine when he was 16,
    because another actor shared his last name.
  • He is 6’1.
  • His birthday is April 18, 1971.
  • His zodiac sign is an Aries.
  • He dislikes horoscopes though. It “gets on his nerves”.
  • He decided to be an actor at the young age of 3 (or 4).
  • His father, Alexander “Sandy” McDonald, was a Presbyterian minister.
  • His mother, Helen McDonald, died of cancer in July 2007.
  • Because of this, he has become a patron for cancer charity
    ‘Association for International Cancer Research’.
  • He is also a patron for Headway, a brain injury association.
  • He joined this organization after researching a role he played in “Recovery” in which he had to play a character who suffered from brain damage after being hit by a car.
  • He has an older brother named Blair, and an older sister, Karen.
  • David did not enjoy school–he said that he was being forced to be there and there was no point him doing subjects that wouldn’t help him in later life
  • David graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
  • At 17 he left home to go to live in Glasgow – first with his older sister and then with a succession of fellow students – until he graduated from drama school in 1991.
  • David wears contacts/sometimes glasses.
  • Billie piper, who played Rose Tyler alongside David in the series Doctor Who, gave David Tennant the nickname “Ten-Inch”.


Relationships & personal life

  • He is very reluctant to talk about his relationships, which is highly respectable.
  • However, He has dated Sophia Miles from 2005-2007.
  • Has been linked recently with Georgia Moffett.
  • David claims Madonna was his sexual awakening when he was 13 or 14.
  • David’s first single he bought was “Like a Virgin” by Madonna.


Doctor Who related

  • David claims he had a Tom Baker (former Doctor Who) doll as a child.
  • He and his father met Tom Baker, and even shook his hand.
  • David wrote an essay in school about how he wanted to play The Doctor in Doctor Who.
  • David signed on to play The Doctor in 2005, after Christopher Eccleston.
  • He began filming Doctor Who in July, 2005.
  • He has been called the Sexiest Doctor.
  • He has played the doctor since then, and has not announced when he plans to leave.


Miscellaneous & Fun facts

  • David stated on The Friday Night Project that the strangest place he was asked for an autograph was in the shower at the gym while naked.
  • David has been the voice of numerous documentary films. See ‘Filmography’ for more.
  • David is godfather to Arabella Weir’s (from the television show The Fast Show) youngest child.
    The two are very close friends.
  • David claims his two favorite writers are Russel T. Davies and John Osbourne. He has played in productions from both of them.
  • David hates ice skating. In the drama, Secret Smile he was required to skate, but kept falling over and bruising himself. Poor David!
  • One of David’s first roles on television was a transvestite on Rab C. Nesbitt. It’s quite funny.
  • David is quite a gentlemen. He claimed numerous times as a true fact that he and actor John Barrowman have farting contests backstage.
    In fact, fellow actress Freema Agyeman wasn’t quite impressed, and soon this became a game to annoy her. Excuse you, David.
  • When he appeared as the “Star in a Reasonably Priced Car” on Top Gear in December of 2007, David admitted his first car was a Ford Fiesta,
    followed by a Ford Escort, and then a Skoda, which he still had at the time (but now he doesn’t).
  • In a recent 2008 article, David had just purchased a Hybrid car. He quotes, “Now, I’m clearly no Al Gore, but I liked the idea of doing my bit.”
  • Apparently, David is very organised. In an article in 2008, the writer teased him for alphabetising his CDs.
  • David has never played in Taggart, even after auditioning numerous times.