Every time the Doctor regenerates, it seems like more and more people call for the Time Lord to be played by a woman. For many fans, the fact that twelve white males have portrayed the character over the past fifty years means that the iconic hero is in desperate need of some diversity. And while we can say that we certainly agree with that sentiment, in a recent interview with BBC Radio 4, Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has explained why he hasn’t cast a woman in the lead role over his eight year tenure on the job.
“I didn’t not cast a woman… I cast a man. I didn’t [cast a woman] because I wanted to cast Matt Smith and I wanted to cast Peter Capaldi. I didn’t think it was a terrible idea [to cast a woman], I just thought, ‘I want to cast those people’ – that was it.”
In Moffat’s defense, fans who are hoping for a female Doctor at some point have a lot to thank the writer for. It was only during his era of the show that it was confirmed that a male Time Lord could regenerate into a female. This was also depicted for the first time on screen when the Doctor’s nemesis, the Master, became Missy (as played by Michelle Gomez).
The future of Doctor Who is currently up for grabs, as the actor who will replace Peter Capaldi as the time traveller has yet to be cast. Many actresses have been linked with the part though, including Olivia Coleman, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Tilda Swinton. Still, other reports have stated that the BBC is looking to nab a younger male actor to take over the role, someone in the vein of David Tennant, who portrayed the Doctor from 2005-2010. We’ll just have to wait and see who gets the keys to the TARDIS next, but we’ll be sure to let you know once we learn more.
Doctor Who season 10 is currently airing on Saturday nights on BBC America and you can check out a promo for the next episode below.
