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

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.