Casting the New Doctor Who

My choice this time round would go to Olivia Colman. I believe now is the right time for a female Doctor with all the groundwork that's been laid for it in Moffat's era. Olivia Colman also has that naturally quirky look to her that Steven Moffat calls 'unconventionally attractive'.

Oh yeah 100% agree there...I'm also getting a bit tired of every companion having to have some title or some huge effect like "The girl who waited" or "The Impossible Girl".... (Even though Karen Gilian will always be my #1 fave....)

He tries to expand at a crazy rate to fill in lore that should be doled out slowly.

I'd rather blow my brains out.

Definitely – a bit like the way his Doctors had to be the longest-lived of all of the incarnations. I think Smith's was a couple of thousand years and Capaldi's is basically in the billions I suppose after Heaven Sent. The poor Sixth Doctor only lasted about 53 years .

Karen Gillan was great, in spite of some of the writing, and I think that's true of loads of actors who've been in the new series.

He's such a charmer isn't he ?

At the suggestion of a female Doctor or of Olivia Colman as the Doctor?

I've always been against the move, but it doesn't stop me thinking about actresses that fit the bill. Tamsin Greig, years ago, would have been excellent. I like Vicky McClure as well – really interesting face. Don't know her work very well though.

The only person I want if they decide to go the female Doctor route is Tilda Swinton. But for me the Doctor is played by someone from the male species and always should be unless Tilda Swinton comes along... 'Long live the Doctor'.

The only thing with Tilda Swinton is that she's so associated with androgynous characters. I mean Orlando, Gabriel, the Ancient One are the ones I know but there could be more. I feel like that quality might not be so useful in this case. The difficulty is that there's been such a carefree attitude to the idea of Time Lords changing sex between incarnations without delving into the reasons why.

I feel like an androgynous actor would mistakenly signal that that is what the Doctor is, rather than the more alien notion that Time Lords probably no longer have a gender to speak of and just inhabit their different bodies whatever sex the body may be. It seemed likely to me over the years that as soon as the Time Lords invented regeneration their normal reproductive cycle would have dulled and become obsolete over the millions of years they've been around. So by the Doctor's time it's completely redundant, and explains his general lack of interest in it .

He's right though. You don't want anybody too attractive for the role of the Doctor. It needs to be someone with a slightly odd look to them. Even if you look at Peter Davison he didn't (and still doesn't) have the kind of look you'd expect fangirls to swoon for.


Hayley Atwell would be great. There's fan pictures of what she'd look like as the Doctor and she'd look perfect.

Yeah, I think Tilda Swinton could do a good job. Probably too busy though.

I don't know though, I'd have thought Davison was pretty conventionally good looking at the time, as was Colin Baker around his The Brothers phase.

Paul McGann's usually considered to be the best looking of the lot, but he also had, and still has, a very unusual look, particularly his eyes. I wonder whether that's partly due to his insomnia? .

I'd kinda like Ann Widdecombe to get the gig, just for a one-off special. Only problem is I can't think of a single adversary that would be brave/stupid enough to take her on

Am not being entirely serious so don't bite my head off - it would be a fun episode though imo.

I'll tell you who I was thinking of for each new Doctor of the new series:

2005 – Bill Nighy. He was actually announced in one newspaper as having been cast, but that was a mistake. In retrospect, I'd have preferred him to Christopher Eccleston.

Post-Eccleston – David Tennant because there was really nobody else who was better suited at that moment.

Post-Tennant – I was thinking Paddy Considine (who apparently wasn't interested); Tom Hardy (whose film career would have made it impossible). In the end I was really happy with Matt Smith, who I didn't know.

Post-Smith – Idris Elba sounded good, but no firm ideas.

I see what you mean about Paul McGann. His eyes look very alien. I'd say the same about Matt Smith's too - for a young actor he has very ancient eyes.

I remember at the time McGann was cast Philip Segal was saying that "he looks like an alien" and it's certainly, partly, down to that 'stare' he has. I'm not sure his brothers have exactly the same intensity, and Mark of course auditioned before Paul.

I still like Smith and it's a shame I didn't get to see his full run really. I think he's a really good actor and I appreciate the way he played the Doctor. He always pitched it exactly right.

It helps that he basically just plays the Doctor as himself, given he already has a natural quirkiness to him. Like Tom Baker in that regard.

I don't need every Doctor to be as quirky as tennant or Smith, even though I love that take, but even the serious ones need to be able to pull off that side every now and then to sell the whole "Same guy, new skin" approach...Idris Elba has always struck me as very serious and I can't imagine him playing that crazed cat in the hat type either...

Yeah, exactly. The beauty of Smith was that, on a very basic level, all he had to do was turn up . Other actors like Patrick Troughton and William Hartnell were really good at playing certain eccentricities, even if they themselves weren't like that.

He might not be off-the-wall in that way but there are different kinds of humour that would work – I'm just thinking of him in Prometheus for example. In fact one of the issues that Christopher Eccleston had was that the comedic moments didn't really suit him – one of the best bits was at the end of Dalek, where Rose says that Adam has "always wanted to see the stars". The Doctor, noncommittal, replies "Tell him to go and stand outside then". That's more the tone that I think suited Eccleston and it's a pity they couldn't have gone for it more, instead of all that forced grinning and larking about.

It'll be interesting to see how Matt Smith works in Big Finish audios - because I'm sure he'll do them eventually. Audio only may lose some of his Doctor's natural quirks.

That was a great line. It reminds me of the 12th Doctor's line in Into The Dalek too, when he introduces Clara as his 'carer'. 'She cares so I don't have to'.

I'm not so sure because he has a really good voice. I remember when he was cast he was doing the voiceover on an American Express advert and the amount of character and interest he put in was great. This became even more apparent when David Tennant replaced him, soon after, doing the same dialogue. It just didn't have the same spark.

Yeah, it's similar. I think the difference is that the Twelfth Doctor means it .

Actually I forgot one – Toby Stephens was somebody who I thought would be good. The thing with him is he's played a lot of really horrible characters over the years but it amuses me to think of him carrying some of those qualities over into a character that you're rooting for . I think he was just about to start doing Black Sails when Capaldi was cast, and I suppose now he'll be busy with Lost in Space.

Cause massive controversy and bring back Tennant. He was one of the most charismatic Doctors in history and would cause a massive wave of stink and joy for the fans.