David Tennant Says Broadchurch Co-Star Olivia Colman Is Not The Next Doctor Who

With Peter Capaldi’s final full season on Doctor Who drawing to a close very soon, the rumours about who the next Doctor will be are seriously heating up. Ever since it was announced that the Scottish actor would be vacating the TARDIS at the end of this year’s Christmas special back in January, there’ve been many stories rolling around concerning who could take his place. And while we still have no idea who it’ll be, we can now at least rule out one contender.

More than ever this time around, there’s a strong feeling that the next Doctor could be a woman. Of the many female candidates that have been put forth – Tilda Swinton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Hayley Atwell – one that seemed to make the most sense was the casting of Olivia Colman. The acclaimed British actress has the range to play both the seriousness and the silliness of the part, for one, and she also previously worked with incoming showrunner Chris Chibnall in crime drama Broadchurch. Not to mention former Doctor David Tennant, who played DCI Alec Hardy on the show.

When speaking to Entertainment Weekly, however, Tennant talked about how he doesn’t think that Colman’s a “serious option” for the next Doctor. He stated that he thought the actress was far too busy and in-demand to commit to an all-consuming job like Doctor Who. 

“I really don’t think that’s a serious option. Olivia is busier than any other actor on Earth. I don’t think she’d be able to suddenly take four years to go to Cardiff. I don’t think her schedule would really allow it whether she wanted it or not.”

Of course, just because Tennant used to be the Doctor doesn’t mean that he’s still in the loop. Therefore, he could be wrong here and his Broadchurch pal might be in the running for the role. On the other hand, what he says makes a lot of sense. In any case, some sources state that the new Doctor might have already been cast, so who knows?

The season finale of the current run of Doctor Who airs on BBC America this Saturday. Will you be tuning in? Let us know in the usual place!