John Bishop initially turned down role of Doctor Who’s newest companion

Doctor Who star John Bishop reveals that he originally turned down the role of the Doctor’s new companion. COVID, of all things, made it possible for him to participate.

John Bishop has officially become a part of the Who-niverse after his brief appearance in the recent Doctor Who holiday special “Revolution of the Daleks.” We don’t know a whole lot about his role besides the fact that he will be joining Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor and Mandip Gill’s Yaz as they trek through space and time. His addition comes after the exits of Bradley Walsh (Graham) and Tosin Cole (Ryan) from the series.

It comes as no surprise that they wanted to keep more than one person around for the good Doctor to interact with. Some of the best episodes have been when the Doctor has an entourage, so I’m here for this.

While John Bishop is known as a stand-up comic in the U.K., many in the U.S. and other parts of the world may not realize how exciting his casting is for the series. And it turns out it very nearly didn’t happen, according to Bishop himself. During a Zoom event, An Evening with John Bishop, the actor revealed that the schedule just wasn’t working out for him:

"I met [showrunner] Chris Chibnall and he had this idea, and this character. He’d seen me in a few things, and he wanted to know if I’d be interested in Doctor Who. I was flattered but the problem was I was on tour when they were meant to be filming. So although I fancied it, I had to say no. And then the whole COVID thing happened! Lockdown arrived so I made a phone call and fortunately they had moved their filming dates. It now fits in perfectly – I’m doing Doctor Who up until July and then I go on the road again in September."

But just because Chibnall had approached John Bishop about the role didn’t mean he got to forego an audition. “I had to do the various audition calls and all that. Then I had to go down to Cardiff and do the audition with Jodie [Whittaker] and I thought, ‘Oh see, this is serious.’”

Personally, I’m stoked to see Bishop on Doctor Who. The show can always use comedic relief. Things get dark and heavy at times, so anything to help lessen that load is appreciated.

If you’ve never seen any of John Bishop’s stand-up routines, I urge you to check them out so you know exactly what you’re in for when he joins Doctor Who! Starting with this one…

Oh, and this one…

There are plenty more where these came from, so check him out and see the treat Doctor Who fans are in for!

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h/t Radio Times