Former Death in Paradise star Ben Miller has revealed that he was once approached to play The Doctor in Doctor Who, before admitting that he would have “loved” to have taken on the role.
Appearing on The One Show to promote his new book and Christmas film This Christmas, the Professor T star was sat alongside former Who star Jenna Coleman, and was therefore asked about his own involvement with the series.
Miller revealed: “I’d have loved to have been Doctor Who. I was once approached and asked if I would be interested in being Doctor Who – this is going back a few years – and I said yes, I would be interested. At which point I never heard anything else ever again, and Doctor Who became more and more successful without me.”
However, Miller said he’s “not bitter” and recounted how he did go on to appear in the series in the Twelfth Doctor episode Robot of Sherwood, in which he played the Sheriff of Nottingham alongside Coleman’s Clara. You can watch the full clip below.
Who would want to see Ben as The Dr? ????????@ActualBenMiller and @Jenna_Coleman_ reminisce on their time on @BBCDoctorWho! ????#TheOneShow ???? https://t.co/lju4bMLKgL pic.twitter.com/s8i5GkNneH
— BBC The One Show (@BBCTheOneShow) November 8, 2022
At the end of the chat, presenter Alex Jones notes that “there’s still time” for Miller to play the Doctor to which he responds “there is still time”.
Miller’s appearance in Doctor Who was opposite Peter Capaldi’s Doctor, who remains a fan favourite. With the show’s 60th anniversary coming up this year, some fans had hoped for a reappearance from the Twelfth Doctor alongside David Tennant, who made a surprise appearance in Jodie Whittaker’s swan song earlier this year as the Fourteenth Doctor.
However, Capaldi recently told RadioTimes.com that while he loves the show in “all of its forms” he feels he has “sort of done my time on it” and likes “the idea that you leave that as it is, instead of constantly digging up more of it.”
Miller can next be seen in This Christmas, a Sky film which is releasing on 9th December 2022 and which stars Kaya Scodelario and Alfred Enoch.
Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer with episodes of the classic series also available on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here.
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