“Oh, yes, harmless is just the word: that's why I like it! Doesn't kill, doesn't wound, doesn't maim. But I'll tell you what it does do: It is very, very good at opening doors.”

For the 2005 revival of Doctor Who, The Doctor’s classic era sonic screwdriver was redesigned by concept artist Dan Walker for use by Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor. From the designs Walker made, two hero prop sonic screwdrivers were produced by Aztec Modelmakers of almost identical build, yet differing slightly in their final paint finish. The No.1 hero prop was produced first in July of 2004 for recording block 1 of series 1 and featured a cream colored, crackled porcelain looking paint finish on the handle meant to mimic the finish of the Ninth Doctor’s TARDIS console. A short time later the No.2 hero prop was completed and featured a grey colored crackled paint finish on the handle. While both the No.1 and No.2 hero sonic screwdriver props would undergo repairs, repaints, and rebuilds from time to time, both props would continue to be put into service as the only hero prop sonics used in filming by both Christopher Eccelston’s Ninth Doctor and David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor throughout the entirety of Series 1-4 of the newly relaunched Doctor Who. 

When David Tennant wrapped filming on his final story as the Tenth Doctor in “The End of Time”, production presented him the No.2 hero prop sonic screwdriver as a wrap gift and keepsake of his time as the Doctor (a tradition that has continued with each actor to portray the Doctor since Tennant). However, Tennant had one more appearance still to film as the Tenth Doctor for The Sarah Jane Adventures two-parter, “The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith”. As one of the two hero prop sonic screwdrivers had already been gifted to David Tennant and was not available for filming, the No.1 sonic screwdriver hero prop would be exclusively used for filming “The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith.” The final screen appearance for the No.1 sonic was in Matt Smith’s debut story as the newly regenerated Doctor, “The Eleventh Hour” for Series 5, when this iteration of sonic screwdriver was ultimately destroyed in-story to make way for an all-new, refreshed sonic screwdriver design for the Eleventh Doctor. 

This is the original No.1 hero prop sonic screwdriver used during the production of Series 1-5 of Doctor Who as it exists today. The prop’s internal electronics and lighting are still functional and the paint finish and overall condition remains in its last production-used condition in 2009. The importance of this particular sonic screwdriver prop cannot be understated. Only one single hero sonic screwdriver prop was used by the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Doctors throughout the production of Classic Era Doctor Who and its unknown if this piece still exists today having been stolen from producer John Nathan-Turner in the late 1980’s never to reappear. Numerous sonic screwdriver props of varying design and build have been featured on Doctor Who since its relaunch in 2005 but none have specifically been featured on screen in as many episodes as this No.1 hero. This piece is also exceptional for having been the first sonic screwdriver prop constructed for the relaunch of Doctor Who and it is the only sonic screwdriver prop to have been used, in one form or another by Christopher Eccelston, David Tennant, and Matt Smith!