Doctor Who Season 13 is on the way at the end of October, and the premiere will be the beginning of the end of Jodie Whittaker’s time as the Doctor. The BBC has not indicated who the next Doctor will be, though fans have their suspicions about one actor: Olly Alexander. As speculation continues, former Doctor Colin Baker spoke about the choice and whether he thought returning showrunner Russell T. Davies would hire Alexander.
Colin Baker recently spoke to Metro about the casting speculation surrounding Olly Alexander and his thoughts on whether or not he’d become the next Doctor. Baker admitted he’s not too familiar with Alexander but shared some things he knew about showrunner Russell T. Davies.
I think that would be too obvious for him. Mind you, he did cast David Tennant after working with him, so who knows? I don’t know [Olly’s] work, to be honest, so I can’t comment. But, if Russell thought he was the right person, then he’s the right person! I wouldn’t argue with Russell.
The actor felt the casting choice would be a bit obvious, especially given Russell T. Davies just worked with Olly Alexander on the series It’s A Sin. As he mentioned, though, Davies cast David Tennant as The Doctor when he worked with him previously on the miniseries Casanova. Obvious or not, a precedent exists that Davies could well cast Alexander as the next iteration of The Doctor.
Olly Alexander is a favorite to play the next Doctor, despite word from him and his camp that suggests otherwise. Both Alexander and his team have gone on the record to say he won’t be the next Doctor, and that was before the BBC revealed Russell T. Davies’ return as showrunner. Davies’ return could certainly make it easy to have a conversation with Alexander about the job, assuming that’s a role he’d like to play.
Colin Baker is right to mention “obvious,” though, because when it comes to castings for the Doctor, the pick is rarely obvious. Fans have tried and failed to correctly guess the actor next in line after the prior Doctor leaves for a while now, and there are a lot of wrong answers thrown out before the right one. Just ask guys like Richard Ayoade and Kris Marshall, both of whom have been through the Doctor casting speculation cycle a couple of times before.
Even if Olly Alexander has the job in hand, he’s not going to say a word until the BBC makes an official announcement. Spoilers are a no-no in most television shows, but that feels especially true in a show like Doctor Who, where secrets (perhaps at character River Song’s suggestion) like this are kept so closely under wraps. We’ll likely just have to wait and see who’s picked.
Doctor Who: Flux premieres on Sunday, October 31. For some speculation on what the big adventure may be about, read our latest on it in which we break down how the plot may connect to a long-held fan theory.
