The prospect of a female Doctor has been floated in the past, but “Doctor Who” showrunner Steven Moffat introduced the possibility in an interview over the weekend ahead of next Saturday’s seventh-season debut.

‘Can I just ask, how many people would continue watching quite happily and believe it was the same person if the Doctor turned into a woman?’

While the response was inconclusive, he added: ‘It is a part of Time Lord law that it can happen.

‘I put the reference in the episode The Doctor’s Wife to the fact that a Time Lord could potentially turn into a woman.

‘Who knows, the more often it is talked about the more likely it is to happen some day, suppose.’

It’s that last quote that I’m particularly fond of: “The more it is talked about the more likely it is to happen some day.” Naturally, I want to do my part in keeping the conversation — and thus, the possibility — alive, so I present you with eight possibilities who I believe would appropriately combine gravitas and playfulness to create an ideal female doctor.

Felicity Jones

Keeley Hawes

Lara Pulver

Michelle Dockery

Emma Watson

Romola Garai

Jessica Hynes

Helen Mirren

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Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba.