Long-time Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has opened up about why he never cast a female in the series’ titular role, and his answer might not be what most people were expecting.
Steven Moffat at the Doctor Who Festival
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Samira Ahmed at the Hay Festival, he explained: “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, I just thought, ‘I want to cast those people’ – that was it.”
Now with Capaldi heading out the door, the decision on who should be the next Doctor is one that may still be being discussed, as it hasn’t yet been officially announced. There are plenty of names being thrown around – both male and female – but for the first time in a while, Moffat won’t be making the choice.
Also leaving the show, he’ll be replaced by showrunner Chris Chibnall, with the Doctor Who newbie now facing calls from former Doctor Who alum to cast a female on the BBC One sci-fi series.
Whoever Chibnall chooses, the clock is ticking on the timeframe in which he’ll be able to make his decision.
Capaldi’s final series of Doctor Who continues Saturdays on BBC One.
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