David Tennant confirms he has rare polydactyly condition

Although you shouldn't believe everything you read on the internet, it turns out that the rumours about David Tennant on Reddit were true.

That's right - the speculation among social media users about what the Doctor Who star, 53, was hiding in his shoe was bang on the money.

There are people out there who have been intently analysing any image of a barefoot Tennant they can find, in the hopes of getting to the bottom of the tittle-tattle about his toes.

Surprisingly, there's a ton of material for online sleuths to sift through, as the actor seems to enjoy going shoeless both in his roles and in real life.

But the good news is, you can stop zooming in on Tennant's trotters now, as he has put the speculation about his 'extra toe' to bed once and for all.

In a new interview, the Harry Potter star confirmed that he does in fact have eleven toes.

David Tennant has revealed he has an extra toe (Karwai Tang/WireImage)

Tennant revealed that he has a rare condition called polydactyly, which refers to a person who is born with one or more extra digits.

While it only affects around one in every 500 to 1,000 babies, it is considered one of the most common congenital conditions.

A lot of the time, the extra digits are removed at birth because they are small or have abnormalities.

We don't know whether Tennant's parents passed polydactyly down to him, however, we do know that the 53-year-old has a little 'nubbin' on his right foot now.

While speaking to Metro, the actor was asked whether the rumours about his extra toe were true, with the reporter saying: "Do people know that?"

Tennant then hilariously responded: "Well, they do now," before adding: "It’s sort of like a nubbin."

A still of David Tennant barefoot in Doctor Who - can you see eleven toes? (BBC)

Reddit users were pretty pleased with themselves after finding out that their hunch about the Broadchurch star was right.

One said: "I’m delighted by this and I have no idea why."

Another joked: "I'm looking forward to 'David Tennant's sixth toe' to start showing up as a tag on AO3. I give it a day."

A third added: "WHERE'S YOUR NUBBIN DAVID WE WANT PROOF!!!"

Others speculated that Tennant might be pulling their legs.

"Having reviewed my files, I have found no sixth toe," one fan wrote. "Perhaps David could post some new videos and tasteful stills to prove this. For science, you understand."

A second said: "I assume he’s trolling the s**t out of us. He knows how often he is barefoot."

Barefoot again in Doctor Who (BBC)

While someone else chimed in: "Is he bulls**tting us? I would love it if he was. Or is the 'nubbin' actually under the other toes?

"If so, he must have a close relationship with his podiatrist because that has got to throw the mechanics of your feet way off."

What is polydactyly?

Let's start with the basics - 'poly' is Greek for many, while 'dactylos' means finger or toe, which is how medics landed on this name which sounds something like a dinosaur.

It is the most common congenital limb difference, according to John Hopkins Medicine.

There are three types of the condition which describe the location and size of the extra digit - preaxial polydactyly, central polydactyly and postaxial polydactyly.

Seen as though Tennant - who's real name is actually David John McDonald - described his as a 'nubbin', it would suggest he suffers from the latter, which is the most common type.

Affecting approximately 1 in 3,000 newborns, tots with postaxial polydactyly are born with either another small finger or toe.

However, the extra digit is usually small and not well formed, meaning it probably won't function the same as your ten others.

Polydactyly is a rare condition which people are born with (Getty Stock Photo)

What causes polydactyly?

Although this condition can be passed on from parent to child, it is sort of pot luck whether you're born with polydactyly or not.

Experts at John Hopkins Medicine explain that it can occur without a known reason in some kids, but it can also affect members of the same family too.

It states: "A child inherits a changed gene (mutation) from a parent that causes one or more extra digits. Race and biological sex may also play a role."

Babies who have suffer from other health conditions are also more prone to having extra fingers or toes.

Surgeon Jurga Pikturnaite, who is a consultant specialising in plastic reconstructive, hand and aesthetic surgery, told the Independent polydactyly can 'be isolated or be a part of a genetic syndrome/sequence'.

She explained: "Polydactyly can either be inherited via the autosomal dominant pathway, which means only one parent needs to pass on the gene for the condition to appear, or can occur due to environmental factors and abnormalities during foetal development.

"While polydactyly is relatively rare, it is one of the most common congenital limb differences that we see. It affects as many as 1 in 500-1,000 live births."