Christmas Special in Pre-Production, Has The New Doctor Been Cast?

Issue 513 of Doctor Who Magazine, released yesterday, has revealed that pre-production for the 2017 Christmas Special had already begun by the time the issue went to press, leading to speculation that the casting of the new Doctor is imminent, or has potentially already taken place.

The episode, directed by Rachel Talalay, will be the last to feature Peter Capaldi as the Doctor and the last to be overseen by Steven Moffat, marking a true end of an era.

With filming set to begin while Series 10 is still being broadcast, speculation is mounting as to whether a new Doctor has already been cast and when an announcement will be made.

Yes the Christmas special of Doctor Who will Amazing so Good I think the New Actor will be Kris marshal or Sean Pertwee Are main Ones to be Doctor Who But I think my money 💰 is on Kris Marshal to be the New Doctor Who Actor

0

0

Paul Openshaw

From the comments

Names linked with the role include Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Kris Marshall, Richard Ayoade, Natalie Dormer, Luke Treadaway and Sacha Dhawan, with outsiders such as Ben Whishaw and Richard Madden also mentioned in sections of the press.

Hayley Atwell, a fan favourite choice, ruled herself out of the part earlier this week, saying:

“I don’t want to play it. No. It’s just not my thing, but I really respect it. I’m a big fan of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, though. She plays the lead in Fleabag. There were talks of her being the next Doctor, and she’s so funny and eccentric and unique; she’d be great. I can’t really see anyone other than her playing it.”

Phoebe Waller-Bridge has also seemingly ruled herself out of the running however, saying, earlier this month:

“I am not going to be the first female Doctor, not that I know of”

Others have publicly expressed their desire to take on the leading role. Speaking in March, Sacha Dhawan confirmed he would love to take over as the Doctor:

“Oh my God, I’d absolutely love to. I SO would love to. I’ve worked with [Mark Gatiss] quite a lot, and I think I’d bring something really exciting to it. It’d be incredibly nerve-wracking to do to be honest. It’s quite a lot of pressure.”

While BBC bosses are said to favour Richard Ayoade however, thinking highly of the new Crystal Maze host:

“Richard is very highly thought of in the industry and is well liked. Beeb bosses have discussed him as an option to replace Peter as they think he would bring something different to the role.”

Reports from April suggested that Kris Marshall had already been cast in the role and would debut at the end of the current series, not during the events of the forthcoming Christmas Special. A source allegedly told The Mirror that:

“Kris Marshall has already joined the cast and will regenerate at the end of this series, not in the Christmas special”

What seems certain is that with filming scheduled to start shortly, an announcement on the identity of the Thirteenth Doctor could potentially come as soon as the conclusion to Series 10 on July 1, ominously entitled The Doctor Falls.

There’s still plenty of life left in Twelve however, with five more episodes left this series, The Lie of the Land airs tomorrow at 19:35 on BBC One and 9/8c on BBC America.