Rumours abound that Paul McGann, aka the Eighth Doctor, will be in the next episode of Doctor Who — alas, McGann has quashed such speculation.

On the Gerry Anderson Podcast, McGann said:

“Just recently — I mean, in the last week or so — there’s me and Billie Piper [who is, maybe, the Sixteenth Doctor] working together. If only! And so people are like, ‘Oh, come on, it has to be true,’ and the rumour mill kicks in.”

Denials don’t always mean much, so naturally, Paul was asked if he’d said this purely because an NDA forbids him from talking about it; to which he replied:

“You’re making this thing worse! You’re part of the problem… Quite honestly, I know nothing. And if I had to say zip, if I was sworn to secrecy, I would just tell you I was sworn to secrecy. It’s happened before.”

Dang, frankly. We’d love to see more of the Eighth Doctor, but it doesn’t sound like it’s happening.

We did see McGann’s incarnation (for the first time as part of the normal TV series, not a minisode or TV movie, although the Eighth Doctor did pop up in The Day of the Doctor) in Jodie Whittaker’s swansong, The Power of the Doctor a few years ago. Seeing him again would surely please most fans, perhaps even win some back after the rather divisive/disastrous The Reality War.

The next episode, a festive special written by Russell T Davies, will air over the Christmas season late this year.