Who Next for Who!

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

As they're not filming the Christmas special until July once the current series has finished they're under no pressure to confirm or deny anything before then. I suspect that if the identity of #13 isn't revealed as part of episode 12 (which given the latest tabloid rumours about who *is* going to be the xmas special, it very possibly won't be) the announcement will come very soon after. Roll on July 1st.

[Rob McCow]

BREAKING NEWS:
Theresa May has announced a snap election of the New Doctor Who this July!

[Stuart Wallis]

Nobody will vote Corbyn for that either!

[Jon Masters]

I plumping for Michelle Gomez - in some kind of Master-Doctor Freaky Friday body swap - merge thingy.

[Nyder]

Dennis Skinner for the next TV's Dr Who please. He can outnorthern that Eccleston lad.

[Stuart Wallis]

Or Nigel Farage - "Daleks shouldn't be allowed to run your political system from Skaro; of course you Mutts should be allowed to have a Brexit referendum!" And look, there's the Master, played by BoJo, adding "And look where it got Britain!"

"It got you into the cabinet, and see where that got us!" said a suspiciously Corbyn-resembling Davros (the resemblance is astonishing!).

Have I had the frog pills or Private Eye today...? At my age it's very hard to tell the difference...

[Alex]

I saw this great actor in Broken on BBC1 last week, some guy called Robert Gillespie who was playing a priest, obviously never heard of him before but I reckon he'd make for a brilliant Doctor Who. ahem.

[Andrew Curnow]

Matt was announced in a specially recorded show, Peter C in a special live show. I wonder how they can top that...? Do you think the Beeb might try and keep the identity of the next Doctor until it actually happens at the end of the Christmas special?! Season 11 doesn't start filming until January apparently so I reckon it could happen!!

[Darren]

The 13th Doctor will be announced on Sunday, after the Men's Wimbledon Final......

[Andrew Curnow]

Little bit more lowkey than the last couple of times, but at least we'll know I suppose!!

[SiHart]

I wonder WHO it might be?

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

The latest bookies favourite seems to be Broadchurch actress Jodie Whitaker (allegedly this has arisen from someone with more money than sense placing a £500 bet on her so hopefully is complete bollo). She's a perfectly good actress in the right sort of role but definitely not an obvious Doctor choice. I am rather ambivalent about the prospect of a female Doctor but above all I just want it to be someone who feels right for the role.

This is probably the most anxious I've felt about the prospect of the role being miscast since before they announced Eccleston in 2004 (and oh the relief when they did). If Chibnall has got this wrong it could kill off the series before the new person has filmed a whole episode.

[duncan]

I have no problem with a female taking the role providing they are not there just because the media demand a woman. The smart money is on Kris Marshall but I would like to see either Matthew Macfadyan or Katie McGrath as 13.

[Alex]

The latest bookies favourite seems to be Broadchurch actress Jodie Whitaker (allegedly this has arisen from someone with more money than sense placing a £500 bet on her so hopefully is complete bollo). She's a perfectly good actress in the right sort of role but definitely not an obvious Doctor choice. I am rather ambivalent about the prospect of a female Doctor but above all I just want it to be someone who feels right for the role.

I want either Olivia Colman or Phoebe Waller-Bridge and would be disappointed if it were Whitaker, I've only seen her in Broadchurch but I didn't think she was that great an actress. She's okay, but doesn't have that unique Doctor-ish element.

I suspect it will be Kris Marshall as well, but I really hope it isn't.

[SiHart]

Richard Mylan seems to be being mentioned a lot this morning

[Darren]

It's Jodie Whittaker!!!!!

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

I admit to having been rather ambivalent to the idea of it being a woman and I wasn't initially very impressed when Jodie was mentioned yesterday. However, having seen the overwhelmingly positive reaction particularly from many women, I realise that this is actually something which is a historic first for the programme and needed to happen as it means that the Doctor really can be anyone and right now that matters more than ever.

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[MacNimon]

I've got to admit that I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand I'm glad that they've taken the plunge and once and for all proved it's not all just pointless media speculation. On the other hand, the cynic in me wonders how much this is down to ticking PC boxes, and how much of it is down to trying to give the series a huge publicity shot in the arm given its falling ratings over the past few years.

I actually missed the announcement, I'd been watching out for it but went into the kitchen for a minute or two and must have missed it...then I got a one-word message from a friend ("Dreadful") instantly followed by Si Harts Facebook post which meant I had to go scurrying around to find out what I'd missed! I think I fall somewhere in the middle between the two camps, slightly uneasy with the decision but at the same time looking forward to see where they go with this. On a rather shallow level, the fact that they've made the character a pretty blond makes it easy to take but at the same time it's going to be quite hard trying to accept that this pretty blond is actually the same character we've all grown up all our lives...

We'll just have to wait and see though, won't we? As with any new Doctor it'll all come down to the writing and acting. If Jodie can convince me next year that she IS the Doctor I'll be quite happy. It's really just the same challenge any incoming new Doctor has but with the added pressure of prejudiced fans to deal with...and so high expectations as well.

To put things into perspective though, I saw a clip on Twitter of a young girl watching the clip and loved her excitement when she saw who the Doctor was..."It's a girl!" she screamed To be honest, this is really who the series should be trying to appeal to, isn't it...the youngsters not a bunch of middle-aged men. We were all that age when we got into the series and we've just never moved on...they have to ensure they make a series which will capture the young audiences attention and keep them hooked, without alienating the existing adult audience. If the series is to survive it has to adapt to changing audience expectations whether we old-school fans like it or not!

[Nyder]

I've not seen her in anything either, so Jody will be a "blank canvas" for me, which is really exciting. Bring it on! Unfortunately I was stuck on a train with dodgy reception when the announcement came through so wasn't able to watch the reveal either!


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[Si Hunt]

For me, the Doctor goes deeper than gender and I can get on board with him metamorphising into a female shape after so many different kinds of male ones. That's not to say it won't take a bit of time to accept ANY new face into the pantheon - the Doctors are deeply personal to me and I love all of them, so I have a few weeks ahead of me of staring at her photo and accepting that she is one of my heroes now. My hopes are though-

- That she is played with gravitas, sensitively and well
- That we get some kind of explanation of why, after 12 male forms, the Doctor is suddenly a female, and if it is the start of a new female cycle or just random or what?
- That the change of gender isn't treated flippantly. When Tennant regenerated, the Doctor squealed "I'm a girl!". When Capaldi regenerated he growled "I'm Scottish! I can complain about things!". But when Whittaker regenerates I hope she doesn't go "Phwoar! Breasts!" or somesuch. I feel this moment needs to be treated seriously. What must it be like after 2000 years as a male to be a female? This is a chance to relate to those transgender people who go through such a shift, that said I hope it is not laboured and the whole focus of her first episode. I just want it to be treated with respect, not made a joke out of
- That the rest of the show feels new and fresh, whilst keeping the staples (TARDIS, monsters, adventure) of the series

Si.

[Paul Clement]

It doesn't bother me that the Doctor is a woman, although it is disconcerting that Chibnall has already stated that he always wanted it to be a woman, rather than the fact she was the best candidate for the role. I haven't seen her in anything befire although I have been told she was good in Broadchurch. I'm more worried that the new head writer, despite writing the acclaimed series mentioned above, has written some of the dullest stories made since the show returned. However, Moffatt had written some of the best in Blink and Empty Child and wrote a lot of poor stories when he was the show runner, so this might work the other way round.

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[Darren]

The Daily Mirror is claiming that Bradley Walsh is the new companion!

[Dirk Gently]

Interesting idea. Full time or short term?

[Rob McCow]

Err.... Is from the same source that brought us Kris Marshall?

[duncan]

Walsh is tied up doing his various quiz shows so I can't see that rumour being true.

Then again, what do I know?