{"id":2396,"date":"2021-07-29T16:16:15","date_gmt":"2021-07-29T14:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1080214"},"modified":"2021-07-29T16:16:15","modified_gmt":"2021-07-29T14:16:15","slug":"doctor-who-which-actors-could-replace-jodie-whittaker","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/doctor-who-which-actors-could-replace-jodie-whittaker\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Who: Which actors could replace Jodie Whittaker?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The hunt is on for the Fourteenth Doctor \u2013 and here are a few of our candidates for the role. <\/p>

By Huw Fullerton\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 29 July 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

After months of rumours, it\u2019s official \u2013 Jodie Whittaker is leaving Doctor Who<\/a> behind, with the Thirteenth Doctor set to depart in 2022 after a six-episode series 13<\/a> and a trio of specials along with series showrunner Chris Chibnall.<\/p>\n

With Whittaker\u2019s departure confirmed, fans\u2019 minds are naturally turning to what\u2019s next \u2013 namely, which actor could succeed her in the face-changing, time-travelling role as the Doctor, becoming the new lead of the series and following in the footsteps of actors like William Hartnell, Tom Baker and David Tennant.<\/p>

At the moment there\u2019s not much to go on, and the BBC have only said the decision will be revealed \u201cin due course\u201d<\/a> \u2013 but based on a few of the names swirling about, our own theories about how the next Doctor would be chosen<\/a> and recommendations from RadioTimes.com<\/a> staff, here are a few of our picks for the Fourteenth Doctor.<\/p>\n

Spoiler alert: we are almost certainly wrong. But if we\u2019re right, well, you heard (or read) it here first.<\/p>\n

Jo Martin<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\""WARNING:\"<\/div>\n

Of course, Jo Martin already plays a past version of the Doctor \u2013 but given how popular she was during her initial appearances in 2020, we think most fans would be open to a little bit of timeline jiggery-pokery that allows her to succeed Jodie Whittaker.<\/p>\n

Will it actually happen? Almost certainly not \u2013 though hopefully we\u2019ll see more of the \u201cFugitive\u201d Doctor no matter who next takes over the TARDIS.<\/p>\n

Olly Alexander<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\""Olly\"<\/div>
Dave J Hogan \/ Getty Images<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

An early favourite to be Whittaker\u2019s successor, Alexander later denied the reports through his management, who noted that he was too busy with his musical career. But who knows? After his acclaimed turn on Channel 4\u2019s It\u2019s A Sin (where he actually battled the Daleks as a fictional 1980s actor, and worked with former Who showrunner Russell T Davies), he\u2019s definitely got the goods to make an impressive Time Lord, and the denials could have been a smokescreen.<\/p>\n

T\u2019Nia Miller<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\""Years\"<\/div>\n

Years & Years star Miller has actually played a Time Lord in Doctor Who<\/a> before, starring as a new incarnation of \u201cThe General\u201d in 2015\u2019s Hell Bent \u2013 but that doesn\u2019t mean she still couldn\u2019t play the Doctor herself.<\/p>\n

After all, Doctors have played other roles in the Whoniverse before \u2013 Peter Capaldi played two, in fact \u2013 and Miller is already a popular choice with fans.<\/p>\n

Michaela Coel<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\""I\"<\/div>\n

The I May Destroy You creator and star is often top of the bookies\u2019 lists to be Jodie Whittaker\u2019s successor, and roles in Star Wars and Black Mirror definitely prove she\u2019s got the sci-fi chops.<\/p>\n

Still, it\u2019s hard to imagine Coel giving up the creative freedom of writing to perform someone else\u2019s scripts for 10 months a year. Somehow, this feels like a pipe dream.<\/p>\n

Lydia West<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\""Years\"<\/div><\/strong><\/p>\n

West has made a splash playing the heroic Jill in It\u2019s A Sin, and in her short career has notably already worked with two former Doctor Who showrunners (Russell T Davies for Years and Years and It\u2019s A Sin, and Steven Moffat for Dracula). Maybe Chris Chibnall could make the triple!<\/p>\n

Still, we can\u2019t help but feel that West is still early in her career to be taking on the role of the Doctor \u2013 though we wouldn\u2019t be averse to seeing her join the TARDIS team some time soon.<\/p>\n

Seyan Sarvan<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\""It's\"<\/div>\n

That said, there\u2019s no reason the Doctor Who production team wouldn\u2019t go down the Matt Smith route and cast a relative unknown as the Doctor.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, another It\u2019s A Sin star springs to mind \u2013 Seyan Sarvan, who made a big impression in a small role during the AIDS crisis drama as lawyer Lizbeth Farooqi. It\u2019s unlikely, but who knows? Sometimes it\u2019s worth looking off the beaten track for Time Lords.<\/p>\n

Richard Ayoade<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\""The\"<\/div>\n

A popular fan-casting, Crystal Maze host Ayoade has hovered in the bookies\u2019 odds for a while \u2013 but given his lack of dramatic acting (usually starring in comedies, directing or doing presenting work) it seems unlikely he\u2019d be keen on playing the Doctor.<\/p>\n

Reg\u00e9-Jean Page <\/strong><\/h2>\n
\""Bridgerton\"<\/div>\n

Aka the Sexy Bridgerton<\/a> Duke, Page\u2019s success in the Netflix historical drama has had him linked with every major franchise role going from James Bond to Black Panther \u2013 but maybe he\u2019d rather play a new version of the Doctor instead.<\/p>\n

Is he a little too<\/em> good-looking and suave? Well, maybe \u2013 and there\u2019s a question whether he might already be moving to bigger things in Hollywood on top of his Bridgerton commitments \u2013 but we know he definitely fits in with certain historical time periods already.<\/p>\n

Lydia Wilson<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\""WARNING:\"<\/div>\n

Previously, we\u2019ve suggested that the ideal actor to play the Doctor would be someone relatively experienced but without one signature role that has made them a household name \u2013 and it\u2019s clear that Wilson (who has often focused on stage work but has a lot of screen roles) fits that bill.<\/p>\n

With credits including Richard Curtis films (About Time), historical dramas (Ripper Street, All is True), sci-fi (Black Mirror, Misfits, Star Trek: Beyond) and British drama (Requiem, Flack) her career has covered all the bases needed to play the Doctor. She\u2019s a dark horse, but definitely exists in the sort of sphere we\u2019d expect the next Doctor to be in.<\/p>\n

Harry Melling<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\""Harry\"<\/div>\n

Dudley Dursley as the Doctor? It might sound strange, but Melling has continued to deliver interesting character work in his roles since leaving the Harry Potter franchise behind including The Old Guard, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, The Devil all the Time, The Queen\u2019s Gambit and a new version of Macbeth.<\/p>\n

Plus, Melling has an intriguing connection to the series \u2013 he\u2019s the grandson of Second Doctor Patrick Troughton. Clearly, Melling would be well aware of the demands of the role\u2026<\/p>\n

Alfred \u201cAlfie\u201d Enoch <\/strong><\/h2>\n
\""Alfred\"<\/div>\n

And if we are going down the family route, what about the son of one of Doctor Who\u2019s original companions? Yes, believe it or not Alfie Enoch \u2013 well known for playing Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter series and Wes in How to Get Away With Murder \u2013 is the son of William Russell, aka Ian Chesterton himself, giving him an unusual connection to Doctor Who.<\/p>\n

Booking roles in TV series like Troy: Fall of a City, Sherlock, Foundation and Broadchurch (where he would have worked with showrunner Chris Chibnall), Enoch also has another notable qualification for the role of the Doctor \u2013 he\u2019s already replaced Jodie Whittaker in a starring role before, specifically in medical thriller Trust Me. Stranger things have happened.<\/p>\n

Will Sharpe<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\""Will\"<\/div>
BBC<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

Sharpe has been on the edges of major TV stardom for a few years now, appearing in shows like Sherlock, W1A, Dirk Gently, Flowers, legal drama Defending the Guilty and Sirens among others \u2013 but it was his BAFTA-winning turn in Giri\/Haji that really started to get him noticed.<\/p>\n

With no second series planned for Giri\/Haji, it could be that Sharpe has some free time, so who knows? Maybe he\u2019d be a good fit for the Doctor\u2026<\/p>\n

Asa Butterfield<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\""Sex\"<\/div>
Netflix<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

Our own regular Doctor Who reviewer has tipped Sex Education\u2019s Asa Butterfield as a good next Doctor<\/a> \u2013 but could Butterfield actually land the role? He certainly has some BBC family drama experience \u2013 in his younger years he played Mordred in Merlin \u2013 and has racked up plenty of sci-fi and fantasy credits as well (Miss Peregrine\u2019s Home for Peculiar Children, Ender\u2019s Game).<\/p>\n

The downside? At 23, he just feels a little young to play the Doctor (lest we forget, the youngest ever, Matt Smith, was 26 when he got the role), and it seems unlikely that he\u2019s done with the world of Sex Education<\/a> just yet.<\/p>\n

And many more\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\""Doctor\"<\/div>\n

Honestly, this list could go on and on. From RadioTimes.com<\/strong> staff alone we\u2019ve also had the likes of\u00a0 Zawe Ashton, Joel Fry, Ruth Negga, Abubakar Salim, Dev Patel, Rahul Kholi, Nicola Walker and Kirby Howell-Baptiste recommended as potential successors to Jodie Whittaker, while bookies\u2019 odds maintain a position for other stars like Kris Marshall, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, David Harewood and Vicky McClure.<\/p>\n

Past a certain point, you\u2019re just running through an endless list of names \u2013 which is probably a good thing. At this point in time, it genuinely does feel like anyone<\/em> could be the next Doctor, and a great deal of credit for that has to be Whittaker\u2019s own groundbreaking casting.<\/p>\n

All we can be sure about for the next Doctor is that they probably won\u2019t be anything like the Thirteenth incarnation \u2013 but when they take over, it\u2019ll feel like they were there all along. Fingers crossed we don\u2019t have to wait too<\/em> long to meet them anyway.<\/p>\n

Doctor Who returns to BBC One later this year \u2013 visit our Sci-fi<\/a> hub for all the latest news.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Want something else to watch? Check out our full TV Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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