NEW YORK, NY – MAY 08: Actors Judith Light and Phoebe Waller-Bridge speak onstage during the FLEABAG Emmy For Your Consideration Event held at The Metrograph theater on May 8, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Amazon Studios)
Since much of the media still reports it’s possible Phoebe Waller-Bridge might be the Doctor, I want to put the rumors to rest now.
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According to her own theatre’s Twitter, Phoebe Waller-Bridge denied playing the Doctor. I know it’s fun to believe in red herrings, but this is not the first time she denied.
According to an article by NME,
"Waller-Bridge had been the subject of intense speculation regarding her possible candidacy to become the first female Doctor Who earlier this year. Waller-Bridge played down the rumours at the time by comprehensively stating “I am not going to be the first female Doctor Who.”"
The rumors hyped up again when Newsnight talked to the Fleabag star, who is set to star in the Han Solo movie, and a new show Killing Eve. When asked about Doctor Who, the actress said she couldn’t “confirm or deny it”, sending everyone in a spiral.
Look, I get it. We all want to know about the next Doctor. We’re all tired of waiting. But Waller-Bridge is not your next Doctor. Her theatre company itself came out and said:
We can confirm that Phoebe is not the next Doctor Who. Pls save the betting people their money! Thanks❤️@stuheritage @guardian @DrWhoOnline
— DryWrite (@DryWrite) July 5, 2017
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 25: Kris Marshall accepts Sarah Lancashire’s award for Best Drama Performance on stage during the National Television Awards at The O2 Arena on January 25, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)
Okay, so…now what?
Does this mean that there won’t be a female Doctor? Who knows. The odds are currently on Kris Marshall and have been since early May. He quit his show, Death in Paradise, sending up a huge sign. According to Marshall (and Radio Times), “it’s simply no longer practical to spend six months of the year 4,000 miles away in Guadeloupe”. He has a son and a daughter, and who wouldn’t want to spend more time with them?
None of this has stopped anyone from believing he’ll be on Doctor Who.
But who knows? We could still be surprised. There are names thrown around all the time. We just don’t know.
But let’s leave Waller-Bridge alone. She’s not our new Doctor. It sounds like she works hard, and we at Doctor Who Watch are excited for her. We don’t want to lead our viewers into thinking something that might not be true.
Here are some other ‘no’s.
For the following reference: Michaela Coel also denied strongly. Tom Rosenthal posted an interesting tweet with a mischievous David Tennant gif, but it’s too interesting.
I know we’re all antsy, but we’ll get an answer soon enough. Filming for the Christmas special ends next week, then BBC will have no excuse.
Here are my two cents: look for the people who don’t talk. Peter Capaldi’s name wasn’t even thrown around when he was announced.
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