Doctor Who: Timothy Dalton was Asked to Return for ‘Hell Bent’
By Leah Tedesco
Timothy Dalton was asked to return as Rassilon on Doctor Who for ‘Hell Bent,’ but was unable to do so.
Television shows and movies have been known to occasionally recast roles that have already been established by particular actors when those people are no longer available for whatever reason. Doctor Who is no exception. Unlike most other franchises, however, it has a convenient excuse when it comes to the ability of Time Lords to either regenerate, or steal the bodies of others. The most notable example of this is the casting of Peter Pratt as the Master after Roger Delgado‘s tragic death.
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This recently happened again for Doctor Who — thankfully without the element of tragedy, or so it would seem. In episode 534 of the Radio Free Skaro podcast, director Rachel Talalay revealed that Timothy Dalton was originally approached to reprise his role as Rassilon in the Series Nine episode ‘Hell Bent,’ but had to turn down the offer due to being unavailable for shooting. With Penny Dreadful having just aired its series finale, Dalton (Sir Malcolm Murray) was most likely busy working on that show during the time that ‘Hell Bent’ was being shot. While it would have been nice to have him back after not seeing him on Doctor Who since ‘The End Of Time Part 2,’ Penny Dreadful was fantastic. I highly recommend it for everyone’s performances, including our Billie Piper.
Thus, Donald Sumpter — known for his role as Maester Luwin on Game of Thrones — was cast and did an excellent job portraying Rassilon’s next incarnation. Sumpter previously appeared on Classic Doctor Who in the roles of Enrico Casali in ‘The Wheel in Space‘ and Commander Ridgeway in ‘The Sea Devils.’ He was also Erasmus Darkening in ‘The Eternity Trap,’ an episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures.
The question now is, after his being forced to leave Gallifrey in a shuttle, will we ever see Rassilon again… and in what form?
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