Back in those distant days of early summer, before England were beaten on penalties, Olly Alexander was a name that frequently cropped up when discussion turned to the question of the next Doctor.

The suggestion made sense, with Alexander, who had made his name as singer with Years & Years, having a lead role in the hit drama It’s A Sin under his belt already this year. It seemed Russell T Davies’s Channel 4 series had brought his name to prominence at just the right time, and with confirmation coming that Jodie Whittaker would be leaving the role coming last month, Alexander has been a fixture on many a list of candidates (including our own) for some time now.

But, if Alexander himself is to be believed, it looks like we can cross him off — at least so far as the Fourteenth Doctor is concerned. His management issued a denial back in June, displaying a healthy level of Doctor Who awareness in the process (“As Ood as it might sound, Olly is focusing on his music, for the time being”) and now we’ve heard it from the horse’s mouth.

In an interview on Capital FM last week, Alexander answered host Sonny Jay’s inevitable question in the negative. Of course, it may be that he was trying to throw us off the scent (he laughed as soon as the word “no” was out of his mouth).

Or possibly he was so horrified by Peter Capaldi’s suggestion that he could “bring some of his pop costumes” to the role that he felt compelled to rule himself out there and then.

So will Olly Alexander be the taking over as the Doctor? Well, it will either be him, or someone else — your guess is as good as mine.

Doctor Who series 13 will premiere later this year, with Jodie Whittaker stepping down after a run of specials in 2022.