He emailed his old friend, the writer and producer Russell T. Davies, and asked to be put on the list of possibles for the title role in the revival of Doctor Who (2005) series. He has claimed in interviews that he was not a fan of the original Doctor Who (1963) and was really attracted to take the part because of his admiration for Davies as a writer.

In 2015, he reprised his role as The Ninth Doctor to record special message for a 14 year old fan in hospital and another for a newly engaged couple.

Eccleston married in 2010, and became a father to his first child, Albert, in February 2012. His wife's name has never been made public, but Eccleston spoke movingly about her and his son at a talk at the National Theatre in July 2012, comparing her to his own beloved mother.

The reasons as to why he left Doctor Who (2005) after one season are vague. He implied that he didn't enjoy the environment that the cast and crew had to work in and didn't get along with some of the higher-ups. He also objected to the mistreatment of some of the non-actor personnel by one of the directors. Russell T. Davies stated that Eccleston was only given a one-series contract, because the BBC had no idea if the new series would be successful.

Prior to being cast as The Ninth Doctor in Doctor Who (2005), he was offered the role of The Eighth Doctor in Doctor Who: The Movie (1996).

He was cast in Terry Gilliam's The Man who Killed Don Quixote, but did not film any scenes before production closed down. In the documentary Lost in La Mancha (2002), his photograph appears on a pin-board featuring photos of the cast.

The BBC admitted that they announced his departure from Doctor Who (2005) too early. It was agreed in the January that he would only do one series and a Christmas special. The announcement of his departure should have be made about halfway through the new series run.

He has two children, a son Albert born 2012, and a daughter Esme born 2014.

He was the first actor to play the title character in a Doctor Who (2005) story to be born after the show first commenced in November 1963.

Although he admitted in interviews that he was never a "fan" or even a keen viewer of Doctor Who (1963), he did see some episodes and his earliest memory of seeing it was Second Doctor Patrick Troughton in the black-and-white episodes of the late 1960s.

He turned down a role in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan (1998).

He didn't take his driving test until January 2004. He said on Top Gear (2002) that his licence restricts him to vehicles with automatic transmission.

He was considered for the role of Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow in Batman Begins (2005).

During phases of unemployment as an actor for some years after graduating from drama school, Eccleston took a variety of odd jobs at a supermarket, on building sites and as an artist's model.

In September 2007, as part of a £9.5m building scheme, Salford's Pendleton College named its new 260-seat auditorium the Eccleston Theatre.

He was going to reprise his role as The Ninth Doctor in the 50th Anniversary Special The Day of the Doctor (2013). After meeting with Steven Moffat, he politely declined the opportunity. Reasons vary from him being unavailable, to him not being interested, to his request that Joe Ahearne direct be declined. His role was given to John Hurt's War Doctor and, along with the previous eight Doctors, he appears via stock footage and body doubles.

Eccleston is an avid charity worker, becoming a Mencap charity ambassador on 28 April 2005, and is also a supporter of the British Red Cross. He also supports research for Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia; his father, Ronnie, suffered from vascular dementia in his later years, until his death in 2012.

He has retained his Lancashire accent.

He was considered for the role of Silas in The Da Vinci Code (2006).

He auditioned for the role of Stuart in Queer as Folk (1999). He would later collaborate with creator Russell T. Davies in The Second Coming (2003) and Doctor Who (2005).

In July 2004, a poll of industry experts, conducted by Radio Times magazine, voted Eccleston the "19th Most Powerful Person in Television Drama.".

He follows in a long line of well-known actors to have portrayed the character of the Doctor from Doctor Who on screen: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy all played the role in the original television series, while Paul McGann played the role in the 1996 television movie and Peter Cushing played it in two films made in the 1960s.

He is a supporter of Manchester United Football Club.

Of the twelve actors to play the Doctor in Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who: The Movie (1996) and Doctor Who (2005), he, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi are the only ones who never worked with the late Nicholas Courtney, who played Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in the former from 1968 to 1989 as well as in numerous Big Finish audio dramas.

Eccleston made his professional stage debut at age 25 in the Bristol Old Vic's production of A Streetcar Named Desire (1951).

On 4 August 2020, it was announced that he will reprise the part of The Doctor in audio stories produced by Big Finish Productions. This marks the first time that he is reprising the character, fifteen years after leaving Doctor Who (2005).

He is the younger brother of twins Alan Eccleston and Keith Eccleston.

According to an interview with Eccleston in the August 2010 issue of Mojo magazine, his favorite album is "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye.

He is a supporter of the British Red Cross Society.

He is the youngest of three sons of Ronnie and Elsie Eccleston.

He was inspired to enter the acting profession at age 19 by such television dramas as Boys from the Blackstuff (1982).

One of his co-stars in Let Him Have It (1991) was Mark McGann, who is the younger brother of Paul McGann, his immediate predecessor as the Doctor.

He is one of three "Doctor Who" actors who portrayed The Doctor on television to appear in an episode of Casualty (1986). The others are Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy.

He often collaborates with Phyllida Lloyd on stage.

He is the uncle of Peter Eccleston and Rebecca Eccleston, who acted with him in Let Him Have It (1991).

As an actor, he was influenced in his early years by Kes (1969) and Albert Finney's performance in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960).

He was the second actor to play the Doctor who had studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. The first had been Peter Davison.

Cites Kes (1969) as the greatest British film ever made.

One of two actors to both play Doctor Who and one of the Beatles. After playing Doctor Who for one year in 2005, Eccleston played John Lennon in Lennon Naked (2010) released in 2010. Peter Capaldi played Doctor Who for five years from 2013 to 2017 and 28 years earlier in 1985 played Beatle George Harrison in John and Yoko: A Love Story (1985).

He revealed in his memoir that he auditioned for Ralph Fiennes' roles in A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia (1992), Wuthering Heights (1992), Quiz Show (1994) and Oscar and Lucinda (1997).

Many years before playing the Ninth Doctor, one of his earliest television roles was in Friday on My Mind (1992), which was produced by Philip Hinchcliffe, who had coincidentally been the producer of Doctor Who (1963) in its most popular period from 1975 to 1977.

He was considered for Matthew Modine's role in If... Dog... Rabbit (1999).