Speaking at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat suggested that the idea of the Doctor becoming a woman in his next regeneration is increasingly likely.
“It is a part of Time Lord lore that it can happen – a Time Lord could potentially turn into a woman,” agreed Moffat. “The more often it’s talked about, the more likely it is to happen some day, I suppose.”
In Moffat’s non-canon Red Nose Day special, ‘The Curse Of Fatal Death’, the Doctor regenerates into comic actor Joanna Lumley, who was at one point rumoured to be a contender for the role just as former companion Catherine Tate was being talked up in the tabloids as a possible Eleventh Doctor a couple of years ago.
More recent rumour-mongering, though, pointed to Spooks and Sherlock star Lara Pulver, who told Digital Spy she’d be cautiously excited about taking on the role, saying, “Yes and no. Not if it meant the end of the Doctor Who franchise, because the fans aren’t keen on it.”
Doctor Who Series 7 airs from 1 September 2012 on BBC One HD and BBC America – check out our spoiler-free review of the first episode.
