David Tennant felt 'sad' as he struggled to say 'I love you' to dying parents (2025)

The former 'Doctor Who' actor has admitted that his mother Helen and father Alexander rarely stated their love for David and his siblings when they were younger

David Tennant revealed he found it challenging to express "I love you" to his parents as they neared the end of their lives, attributing this to the relative absence of verbal affection in his upbringing. In an intimate conversation on his podcast David Tennant Does A Podcast With..., the renowned actor shared that his parents, Helen and Alexander, rarely verbalised their love for him and his siblings during their childhood.

The Doctor Who actor emphasised: "Even when my parents were dying it was so hard to say I love you. It's quite sad.." He continued, describing his family dynamics: "My mum and dad were very loving. But it was never very expressed. And it was expressed [in] their presence and their actions and their consistency, but not particularly tactile. I don't remember us as a family saying, 'I love you' to each other."

David stressed that he never questioned the depth of their love, only the manner in which it was communicated.

"I mean, I never doubted for a second that we were adored. No, but it was always understood rather than exhibited. No, that's not true. It was exhibited, but it wasn't stated."

Furthermore, the actor acknowledged the reciprocal difficulty in articulating affection to his parents, noting it was an ingrained pattern of behaviour fostered by their family environment and societal norms.

Sadly, David's mother passed away in 2007 and his father in 2016. The 'Broadchurch' actor, father to Olive, Wilfred, Doris, and Birdie with his wife Georgia, whom he wed in 2011, also plays a parental role to her son Ty from a previous relationship.

David also opened up about the distinct bond he shares with his children, contrasting it with his own upbringing by saying: "We do that to our kids all the time, too much, and they do it back. That's not an experience I had growing up."

In a candid interview with Radio Times magazine, he previously shared his views on parenting: "I think parenting is often sentimentalised, and sort of cleaned-up for consumption, and in my own experience being a parent, it's hit and miss, and full of triumphs and disasters."

He also expressed his feelings about fatherhood: "Being a dad is one of the most extraordinary and life-affirming things that can ever happen to you."

Doctor Who has a special connection to David as it’s how he met his wife, Georgia.

Back in 2008, Georgia appeared on the show in an episode called The Doctor’s Daughter where she played the role of David’s genetically engineered daughter, Jenny.

After meeting on the show in 2008, David and Georgia tied the knot three years later in a romantic ceremony on New Year's Eve 2011.

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