ACTOR · BORN 1971
David Tennant
- Born
- 18 April 1971, Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland, UK
- Known for
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), How to Train Your Dragon (2010), The Simpsons (1989), How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019)
93 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
David Tennant's Children and Wife: 16 Family Facts
- #003
As a child, his most treasured possession was a scarf his aunt knitted for him, modelled on the iconic multi-coloured scarf Tom Baker wore in Doctor Who (1963) in the 1970s.
- #005
He chose his acting surname from Neil Tennant, the singer of Pet Shop Boys. This came shortly after he read an interview with Tennant in "Smash Hits" and learned that, as a registered member under his real name David McDonald, he had to change his professional name to join the actors' union Equity.
- #009
In 2011 he adopted his wife's son, Tyler.
- #011
He has been married to Georgia Tennant (formerly Georgia Moffett, daughter of former Doctor Who (1963) star Peter Davison, who played the Fifth Doctor and was born Peter Moffett) since 30 December 2011. They met on the set of Doctor Who (2005) in November 2007 during filming of the episode The Doctor's Daughter (2008), but did not become a couple until some time later. In January 2011 British tabloid magazines reported that they had moved in together and become engaged. Georgia gave birth to the couple's first child two months later, and they married nine months after that.
- #015
He is the son-in-law of the actor Peter Davison and Sandra Dickinson. Davison was also his favourite Doctor from the original Doctor Who (1963) television series. Tennant was chosen to present Come in Number Five (2011), a documentary about the production of Davison's Fifth Doctor era, and appeared as an extra on the Special Edition DVD release of Resurrection of the Daleks: Part One (1984).
- #017
His actress wife Georgia Tennant gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Olive, on 29 March 2011.
- #019
His favourite book is J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye".
- #022
David Tennant's favourite Doctor Who character of all time is the Zygons, who first appeared in the Fourth Doctor adventure Terror of the Zygons: Part One (1975).
- #024
It has been mentioned before that his father-in-law Peter Davison is respectfully remembered as the Fifth Doctor, but his mother-in-law Sandra Dickenson is also honoured in science fiction for the role of Trillian, companion to Zaphod Beeblebrox in the iconic TV series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
- #025
The appearance of Spalding, Lex Luthor's assistant, in Paul Cornell's run on ''Action Comics'' is based on David Tennant. Cornell has written many expanded-universe stories featuring Tennant's Tenth Doctor.
- #028
David Tennant graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
- #039
David Tennant's favourite band is The Proclaimers. He is also a big Madonna fan and says the first single he bought was "Like a Virgin."
- #043
April to May 2013: filming of The Day of the Doctor (2013) in Wales. His son was born the day after his last day on the film's set. Tennant then took three weeks off, though he recorded several voiceovers and TV commercials and, during that time, went to Stratford-upon-Avon for meetings about Richard II.
- #064
David Tennant's maternal grandfather was the footballer Archie McLeod.
- #067
Glasgow, Scotland: filming of the mini-series drama Single Father (2010) for BBC Scotland.
- #079
The film Bekar Baba (2010) was shot in Edinburgh.
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