Former Doctor Who star calls doubts about female Doctor “stupid sexism”
By Ariba Bhuvad
Sylvester McCoy, who played the Doctor on Doctor Who for three seasons back in the ’80s, had his reservations back in 2015 when there was talk about hiring a woman to play the iconic role. “The Time Lord should never regenerate as a woman,” he said, point blank.
McCoy figured that, much like James Bond, the Doctor is a male character, and that the dynamics of the series would be ruined if the franchise opted to be “politically correct,” saying he supported feminism but didn’t see “the cultural need of a female Doctor Who.”
Lo and behold, just a short two years later in 2017, Jodie Whittaker was announced as the first female Doctor, taking over the mantle from Peter Capaldi. Fast-forward to 2021, and McCoy is singing a completely different tune, chalking up his earlier comments to “stupid sexism” while speaking to the Radio Times. “After five minutes she was the Doctor, as far as I was concerned,” he said.
Sylverter McCoy also had reservations about Matt Smith leading Doctor Who
As it ends up, McCoy has a lot of opinions on Doctor Who. He also had reservations about Matt Smith, who played the Eleventh Doctor. As it turns out, McCoy wasn’t convinced Smith looked old enough, although he turned around on this too.
"I was surprised when they got Matt Smith. He looked about 12, and yet he was brilliant! One minute he looks 12, the next he looks 125. He has the perfect Doctor Who face. So, a surprise."
Perhaps trying to get ahead of himself, McCoy now supports casting a person of color as the next Doctor, and there might be need for that soon if the rumors that Whittaker will leave after the upcoming thirteenth season are true. But with nothing officially confirmed as of yet, I’m going to pretend like it’s not happening.
In any case, McCoy seems like he’s finally ready to embrace change in the Doctor Who franchise. The show has definitely veered towards more inclusivity and diversity in recent years, and I have a feeling it will continue on that path for years to come.
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h/t The Guardian, Screenrant