Doctor Who is easily the best family-friendly Saturday teatime drama about an annoyingly zany man from the future beating up a succession of slightly cheap-looking aliens – at least since Bugs – but there's going to be a new Doctor Who, you know.
Apparently it's being rumoured that James Nesbitt is being lined up for the role of Doctor Who when the current Doctor David Tennant leaves next year, possibly to become a full-time Richard Hammond lookalike. You may know James Nesbitt best as the annoyingly zany one from Cold Feet, or the annoyingly zany one from Murphy's Law, or the annoyingly zany one from Jekyll, or the annoyingly zany one from those Yellow Pages adverts, or the annoyingly zany one from hard-hitting docu-drama Bloody Sunday.
Can't think why people think he'd make a good candidate for Doctor Who, though.
The whole world loves Doctor Who, doesn't it? Since it returned to our screens in 2005 with Christopher Ecclestone as Doctor Who, people have gone apeshit for every single episode of Doctor Who going – with the possible exception of the Christmas special that had Catherine Tate in it, on the basis that Catherine Tate is very obviously rubbish.
But, aside from that, Doctor Who's popularity is so massive that Doctor Who has been in The Beano, superstars like Kylie Minogue are itching to become Doctor Who's new Catherine Tate and the show even got a spin-off in Torchwood – easily the best show ever about a bisexual man standing on different roofs in Wales – but soon there isn't even going to be a Doctor Who. The current Doctor David Tennant is rumoured to be leaving Doctor Who after the next series, and the race is on to discover who'll fill his twitchy, exasperating 'I'm crazy me' persona and thoroughly annoying local radio DJ accent.
Even though producers may as well just stop delaying the inevitable and cast Timmy Mallett as Doctor Who, it seems that they have other ideas on their mind. According to The Sun, the next Doctor Who looks likely to be James Nesbitt, the man from those hilarious Yellow Pages adverts. Did we say 'hilarious'? We meant 'suicide-inducing':
David, 36, is expected to quit at the end of the next series and insiders say Irishman James, 42, is a cert to get the Tardis key. The Jekyll star is pals with Doctor Who writer Steven Moffat, tipped to replace show chief Russell T Davies when he also stands down at the end of the next series. Our mole said: “Moffat has worked with James on Jekyll and the talk in BBC Drama is that he’s a shoo-in as the next Doctor. First a Scottish Doctor — now we could have a Northern Irish one.”
We can see why James Nesbitt would be a good Doctor Who – his recent series Jekyll may as well have been called Let Me Be Doctor Who! Look How Darkly Zany I Can Be! and, since the man in charge of Jekyll is going to be the man in charge of Doctor Who soon, he looks like he'll be a shoo-in.
In fact we'd go as far as to say that this is easily the best news ever about an actor we don't know much about possibly getting a role on a TV show we don't watch.
Read more:
Nesbitt Tipped As New Doctor Who – The Sun
Internet Pedant says
Bugs? Bugs never had aliens! OMG you and your website know nothing! Lies, lies and damned lies! OJ didn’t do it, you were soooo wrong about Harry Potter, stop slagging off the Grateful Dead and will you finally clean your years!!!!!!!! I’m never reading you again etc…
For a supposed bastion of TRUTH and journalistic INTEGRITY you are surprisingly BAD at hiding your OBVIOUS left wing/right wing (delete as desired) bias. Do some REAL research and tell us who’s going to be the next Crime Traveller. Will it still star the bird that KILLED Red Dwarf?
David MacKenzie says
Steven Moffat has officially denied the story about James Nesbitt on the Outpost Gallifrey forums. He says that it is a total fabrication. (http://www.gallifreyone.com/forum/showthread.php?t=143956) Hope that it works. You might have to register, though.