Brian Blessed would "love" to be Doctor Who if Peter Capaldi quits after series 10.
Brian Blessed with CALIBRE Quarterly magazine
The 79-year-old actor - who turns 80 in October - was offered the role as the titular Time Lord back in 1966 but was forced to turn it down because of existing commitments.
However, he fancies getting his hands on the key to the TARDIS now if current Doctor Capaldi decides he's had enough.
Speaking in this month's CALIBRE Quarterly magazine, he said: "I would love to play the Doctor, absolutely."
Blessed - who had been one of the main stars on 'Z-Cars' at the time - can remember sitting down with the producers to discuss taking over the part from First Doctor William Hartnell and jokingly told them he wanted to portray the character as Charlie Chan, the fictional Chinese-American detective.
The 'Flash Gordon' star recalled: "I was actually in talks with the producers, who said, 'We're very keen for you to be the Doctor, to follow William Hartnell, and we'd like you to play him very young. You've got a very vivid imagination, Brian. You can be quite normal and then also very, very eccentric.'
"Now, it would have been a big gamble for them at the time, to make the Doctor so young. I said to them, 'Well, there's two ways I can play this - very much based on my own personality, because space is my big love.'
"I would have given it an intensity and humour. The other way I suggested of doing it was, 'whooo, whooo, whooo.' It's almost oriental sounding, you see. I was tempted, with very fine makeup, and a great voice coach, to make him like Charlie Chan. They must have thought 'Christ! Brian's crazy bloody imagination!' "
Brian did go on to star in 'Doctor Who' playing King Yrcanos in the 1986 serial 'Mindwarp' opposite Sixth Doctor Colin Baker.
The eccentric star also revealed he punched Capaldi 20 years ago on the set on 'The History of Tom Jones' and joked he would love to fight with the 57-year-old actor again, maybe even on the 'Doctor Who' set.
He told the publication: "At one point his character hits mine across the face with his glove as a challenge, and I go, 'Ooooh', and chin him with a left hook!
"Peter will always agree with this I'm sure. As I throw the left hook, he puts his face forward! As I hit his head at the side, I pulled it, I pulled the punch as I felt it hit his cheekbone, and I yelled, 'He's hit!' His legs were flapping, his arms start going and he's got this gash across his forehead.
"I would love to be in Doctor Who, if they could find me another part, at least so Peter and I could fight again!"
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