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'Doctor Whos We Want To See Before Kris Marshall

By Kristy Puchko | Lists | April 17, 2017 |

By Kristy Puchko | Lists | April 17, 2017 |


As the tenth season of the regenerated Doctor Who premieres, fans are in a tizzy over who will take on TARDIS once Peter Capaldi walks away at season’s end. And the current rumored favorite has some fans outright furious. Because it’s Colin Frissell, the grotesque sex pest of Love Actually who is miraculously and infuriatingly rewarded for his lustfulness and obliviousness by finding a bevy of hot-to-trot hotties in a random U.S. bar.

Colin’s story has aged the least well of all of the Love Actually threads to the point where he wasn’t even included in the Red Nose Day reunion. But if The Sun is to be trusted (it’s not), actor Kris Marshall has already been cast for season 11 because the BBC is reportedly looking for “a David Tennant type.”

BBC, come on now. In what universe is Kris Marshall a David Tennant type?

Basically, it seems they want to go back to a whimsical and weirdly hot Doctor who will spur fans to watch as the show airs in a way Capaldi’s doctor hasn’t. Which makes sense. But can we please stop with this “only White dudes can Doctor” bullshit? Yeah, Steven Moffat has a lot of excuses on why the Doctor can never be female. But this is his last season, so showrunner Chris Chibnall has an opportunity to make some historic changes to the series by simply not casting another British White dude in the iconic role. 12 White dudes is plenty. Dare to open up the franchise and use the platform for good as The Force Awakens, Rogue One and The Last Jedi are doing for Star Wars and its fans!

If it’s true the BBC can’t see beyond a very narrow niche for Doctor Who’s titular role, perhaps it’s up to us to show them what incredible possibilities lie outside it. That the Doctor is British is a given (national treasure that the character is and all that), but White and dude? Non-essential. Let us illuminate the possibilities:

Haley Atwell
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The Agent Carter star has voiced an interest in the part. And if you want a lady-version of David Tennant, who better than a woman who can play heroic and delightfully goofy, and is deliriously sexy to boot!? I mean, we’ve been over this.

Rahul Kohli



The iZombie scene-stealer (and Pajiba 10 member) is a popular replacement pick on Twitter. The London-born actor has proven his comedy chops on the hilarious series, has got lions roaring with his modeling work, and has been battling trolls and Islamaphobes (who ignorantly attack the self-proclaimed Atheist for being a brown dude) on Twitter. Basically, he’s funny, sexy, and genuinely heroic. You want a Tennant-like Doctor for a new era, look no further.


Olivia Colman
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Or perhaps look no further than Tennant’s Broadchurch co-star! Leaping from Peepshow to Broadchurch, Fleabag to The Night Manager, Colman has proven herself one of the most versatile actors living today. She can do drama, comedy, and always with a sharp wit that has you rooting for her even when her characters make awful choices. Now, you might well remember she did appear in the Doctor Who ep, “The Eleventh Hour,” in a small role. But that didn’t bar Capaldi from the helm of the TARDIS! (H/T Hannah Sole)

Idris Elba
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You might think Elba’s too big a name to bother with Doctor Who now, but 1) he is fronting the Showtime mini-series Guerilla this year, and 2) if there were ever a role he’d likely take on Luther-level work for again, we suspect it’d be Doctor Who. Elba has been outspoken about how he came to America because it offered better opportunities for Black actors. But if one of the most iconic (and traditionally White) British characters could be Black and his? Forget James Bond, hello sonic screwdriver!

Natalia Tena
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Whether you know her from Harry Potter or Game of Thrones, Tena’s appeal is one the volatile charm variety. And if you had to distill the essence of the best Doctors, can you do better than “volatile charm?” She’s got charisma, but there’s a glint in her eyes that leads you to believe she’s capable of anything. (H/T Hannah Sole)

Freema Agyeman
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“Don’t care how they make sense of it,” Seth Freilich declared in our shared Slack. And yes, there’d likely be some fans in a snit if a companion actor was recast in such a major way. But again, they did it with Capaldi, tying the recurrence of the face to something critical in the Doctor’s latest evolution. With all that Martha got up to with the Doctor, it’d totally make sense that he’d borrow her face for a season or two.


Dev Patel
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Her stole our hearts with Slumdog Millionaire. Now that Patel is unquestionably hot, give this winsome ingendude a run at Tennant’s crown! But keep him with facial hair, longish locks, and throw him in a plaid suit whenever possible. Thanks. (H/T Hannah Sole)

Wunmi Mosaku


Rebecca Pahle’s onto something with this rising star. Though born in Nigeria, Mosaku has made a name for herself in British theater and television, appearing in In the Flesh, Black Mirror and Fearless. She’s got dazzle, drama, and so much smolder! Or as Bex put it: “My reasoning is A) she’s talented B) she’s British and C) she’s legit fucking gorgeous. It’s like God himself airbrushed her skin. Also she’s one of like three British actresses who haven’t been in Doctor Who yet,”


Joanna Lumley

Looping back to Red Nose Day, there and the Doctor Who porn parody are the only places the Doctor has been a woman. And you know what, we’d be totally down for an Absolutely Fabulous Doctor! As our own Jamie Righetti put it, “God, imagine Patsy and Eddie as the Doctor and Companion!”

Antonia Thomas
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Dustin Rowles is rooting for this stunning standout from Misfits and Scrotal Recall, which we swear is better than it sounds.

Tilda Swinton
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Okay. We admit this one’s highly unlikely. While no one on this planet would be better suited to play an eccentric alien with two-hearts, Swinton is a flat-out movie star who takes breaks to nap in museums, not front arduous-to-produce television shows. But just take a moment to imagine a timeline where she’d say yes. It’d be a season so full of possibilities it’d be positively out of this world. (H/T Jodi Clager)

Did we miss your pick for the next Doctor? Share in the comments.