Doctor Who: BBC Under Scrutiny For Wagers On Pearl Mackie

One can apparently wager on anything, including who the next companion was going to be on Doctor Who. Now, the BBC is facing scrutiny after a number of winning bets came in for Pearl Mackie during the final 24 hours before she was announced as the new companion.

Everyone enjoys a little wager every now and then. Whether it involves fantasy sports, a couple of dollars on the outcome of a game or placing a wager on a betting site, there is a great deal of fun in making that bet to try to earn a bit of extra cash based on one’s knowledge or instinct.

It also helps that one can wager on virtually anything. Even Doctor Who has fallen under that gambling umbrella, as people were able to wager on who would be the next Doctor when Peter Capaldi took on the role, and who his next companion would be. However, those bets placed in the 24 hours before Pearl Mackie was announced as the new companion are being questioned, as different gambling sites and bookmakers are requesting that the BBC investigate if any insider knowledge was leaked prior to the announcement.

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If this is the case, it is certainly troubling. Mackie was a relatively unknown actress prior to landing this role, and was not even a part of the rumor mill until a day before the announcement. Then, suddenly, quite a few wagers were placed on her getting the role. It would certainly appear to be suspicious if this was an isolated incident, but that is not the case.

When Peter Capaldi was slated to be announced as the next Doctor, there were also suspicious wagers that came in suddenly just before the announcements. It got to the point where bookmakers suspended betting on the identity of the next Doctor 48 hours before Capaldi’s confirmation. Could something shady be going on within the BBC to manipulate these bets?

It certainly bears investigating. The BBC, with these events happening over the last two changes to major parts of the staff, should do their best to make sure that insider knowledge is not being provided to others for gain. If that proves to be the case, it could lead to questions about how the process for bringing in new members of the show is handled.

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The BBC may be finding itself under a great deal of scrutiny, especially as these questions keep happening about Doctor Who. For everyone’s sake, they should review the happenings at the station, just to make certain that nothing untoward is occurring.