What will Doctor Who look like when the 13th Doctor regenerates?
In the UK – a country where everyone can recognize a Dalek – the question of who should play the next Doctor Who is guaranteed to be a hot topic of conversation. And since current star Jodie Whittaker and showrunner Chris Chibnall announced they’ll be leaving the show next year, the debate about the identity of her replacement has moved up a notch. The decision is undoubtedly going to cause Who’s new showrunner – Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright is rumored to be the frontrunner for the gig – some major headaches. The Doctor is a lead role like no other, an alien hero who doesn’t use guns, for whom quirkiness is as integral to their DNA as a second heart. And now that Whittaker has played the show’s first female Doctor, there’s another complex element to the casting. Indeed, bringing in another white man – as the Doctor was for their first 12 (13 if you include John Hurt’s War Doctor) incarnations – could feel like a retrograde step for a show that’s made a concerted effort to embrace diversity. Established Hollywood stars like Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman and Idris Elba are almost definitely out of the BBC’s reach. And other names – such as Death in Paradise’s Kris Marshall and James Bond’s Ben Whishaw – routinely come up whenever there’s a vacancy in the TARDIS. In the list below, we’ve pulled together 10 actors who could play the next Doctor Who. Some are more likely than others, but bear in mind that it’s just as likely the casting will take us all by surprise. After all, few had heard of Matt Smith before he got the keys to the TARDIS in 2010. While the Years & Years singer is currently the bookmakers’ favorite to play the next Doctor Who, his manager, Martha Kinn, has denied the rumors, telling Instagram that, “Even though Olly is often contacted by Cybermen, I’m afraid I have to exterminate this speculation.” Alexander does have experience acting alongside Daleks in Channel 4/HBO Max drama It’s a Sin, but this is one to file under unlikely – especially as the rumor seems to have started when former Who showrunner Russell T Davies told SFX magazine: “Olly would make a marvellous Doctor Who”. From his signature sitcom role as Moss in The IT Crowd, to his hosting gig on UK game show The Crystal Maze, there’s always been something slightly otherworldly about Ayoade.
