As always, the picking of a new Doctor is a process — also, a big event, and until recently, you always knew months ahead of time who’d be left in front of the camera when the regenerative glow faded. 

It’s very likely that in the next six months, in addition to filming the 2026 Christmas special, a new showrunner will be appointed, and a new Doctor chosen. 

All this, alongside the BBC searching for a new financial partner, so we’ll see how that goes, but they are on the clock now. Things are moving forward, and the Beeb has definitely kept their word so far on being committed to Doctor Who’s future.

And for now, let’s just assume that the new showrunner, whoever they may be, will have some good ideas, is a good writer, and we’ll have a stable platform on which to proceed.

In the meantime, the next Doctor is out there somewhere, floating around, doing whatever it is they do while floating. We, the fans, have our thinking caps on regarding potential candidates, and who we might want in there, while we ignore the endless stories about who the bookies are pushing. And while considering this or that person, we usually try to look realistically at who might want to take the helm, who might be right for the part, who’s got the look, the acting chops, the gravitas, etc.

Though one question that has popped up more and more in recent years, regarding a possible new Time Lord. That being…

“I don’t know, are they ‘too big’ for Doctor Who now? Surely, they’re far too busy, they’re far too popular, they’d never lower themselves to do Doctor Who…”

What’s the word I’m looking for…? Ah yes — nonsense! 

That train of thought is lunacy, and says more about our defeatist attitude, and our fan inadequacies than anything else. Why on Earth should we, or anyone, downplay the importance of Doctor Who? Never mind past slumps and wrong turns. We know what Doctor Who can be, and has often been! This isn’t the playground in 1985, where it was embarrassing to be a Doctor Who fan. Nerds and geeks have never been more accepted and celebrated than now. We should be proud that we love the greatest show in any universe. 

Others can embrace their franchises and prefer them, but none of them, even at their best, eclipse Who. Sure, Star Wars, Star Trek, and the MCU are bigger and more expensive, and they’ve produced some great stuff along with a fair amount of dreck, but is their best stuff as great as Who at its best? No, I don’t think so.

Those other franchises are just far better at using their gargantuan resources to encircle the globe, expand and conquer the world, while the Beeb mainly focuses on keeping Doctor Who mostly for the British. But does that mean we, as Who fans, should just lower our heads and accept a smaller chair at the table? No. 

Some fans can luxuriate in special effects and vast amounts of money, but I prefer the characters and stories in Who. The BBC should come up with a plan to conquer the world with the right partner, and stop hoarding its product. If the folk at the BBC want Who to emerge with the same level of “status” as other bigger franchises, they have to remove their collective heads from their collective nether regions and share the entire back catalogue with the world at large, and their streaming partner.

Until they do, the world stage will only see Doctor Who as a smaller, lesser show run by a company that’s selfishly hoarding its stuff like Gollum covets the ring. 

Doctor Who deserves only the best creatives, promotion, presentation, and representation.

And actors? They should be chomping at the bit to be a part of it. Playing the Doctor should be thought of as the holy grail of acting parts. A very special and exclusive club that has headlined a legendary institution, not an inconvenient stepping stone to your career. It’s a part you should be eager to get a shot at, and make it your own, but with a respectful nod to who’s come before you. 

You should also know what you’re getting into, and embrace that. It’s a lot more than an acting job. You’re an ambassador, waving the flag, immersing yourself in that world. It’s hard work — almost as hard as the showrunner who’s in charge of that circus. But hey, these days, no one expects the actor to stay in the part for ten years, or even five. The hope, the expectation, is that you at least stay three years, but if you don’t want to do that, or if you’re too busy, or don’t want that weight on your shoulders, then do us all a favour, and don’t bother auditioning.

In the classic era, we had a variety of actors take on the role for different reasons. Whether it was a final note to a good career, another in a long line of character parts as a jobbing actor, taking the part to steer their career in a different direction, or just trying to get some job security. With each new regeneration, there was a bit more notoriety and prestige, at least until the ’80s, when outside forces sabotaged the show, and it hit its first setback.

The new era gave us some veterans willing to carry the torch, and some new talent who made their careers by taking the role. True, there were more setbacks. Controversial decisions by showrunners. Fickle modern audiences and their short attention spans. The ever changing landscape of how entertainment is presented. But then, you don’t get peaks without valleys. 

And these are not unsolvable problems. You move forward. You find the right creatives, promotion, and platform. You don’t have to preach and finger wag — at least, not so demonstrably or transparently. You create scary, funny, clever, dark, fascinating stories. Give the fans history and the universe. Give all that to the world, along with the back catalogue. That’ll work.

If someone rolls their eyes about Doctor Who, that’s on them. There will always be the eye rollers out there, who wallow in the shallow, or just can’t appreciate Who for what it is. Doesn’t matter — whatever the future holds, it can’t take away the good stuff from the past. 

I think that everyone tends to dwell on that pile of bad things a little too much and doesn’t celebrate the larger pile of good things Doctor Who has accumulated. 

When it comes to this search for a new Doctor, maybe, just maybe, it’d be nice for a big name to step up and say they’d be proud and excited to take on the role. Yes, they still get other job offers, but they’ve been around for 15 or 25 years, and this would be a challenge worth taking on. Three years? PFAH! ‘Tain’t nothin’. These days, it would undoubtedly be short seasons anyway. Even some spare time to fit in a couple other jobs here and there, but still, three years and they’re out… Not exactly a living hell, or even that much of real hardship for a working actor — and if they have a good time, maybe they decide to stay longer. You never know.

Is this the only way to go, or the only way I’d want it to go? No. I’d be just as happy with an up and coming star like David Tennant or Matt Smith; talented, eager, hungry young actors ready to give it their all.

But wouldn’t it be nice if another well-known name wanted to dive in, just like Christopher Eccleston or Peter Capaldi? Perhaps even a bigger name? It would speak volumes. It would remind the world that the institution is alive and thriving, and that it’s worth it for an actor to be the next Doctor. 

The only way any actor would be “too big or important” for Who, would be if we let that be the case, or just bend the knee and accept it. Nope, that’s just the wrong mindset, because it’s incorrect.

No. Think not of what Doctor Who can do for you, but what you can do for Who.