Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: bbc, doctor who, frances de la tour, peter capaldi
Peter Capaldi Wants His Doctor Who Replacement To Be a Woman: Frances de la Tour
Earlier this week, we learned that Peter Capaldi will be ending his tenure as The Doctor after the upcoming tenth season of Doctor Who, which will air this April. Capaldi will regenerate into a new Doctor during the next Christmas special in December. But who will that new Doctor be?
Betting oddsmakers say Ben Whishaw, known for playing Q in the James Bond movies. Bleeding Cool Rumormonger-in-Chief Rich Johnston guesses Olivia Coleman, who stars in incoming Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall's Broadchurch. Peter Capaldi himself has a different choice, though he seems to agree with Johnston that the next Doctor should be female. Capaldi discussed his choice with UK Newspaper The Mirror (whose pick, by the way, is Andrew Buchan):
The time felt right to bow out, to let somebody else play this wonderful role and I would like Frances de la Tour to be first female doctor.
That the Doctor could regenerate into a woman is supported by the show's canon, and it's fitting that Capaldi would support it, as he was recently spotted marching in solidarity with women at a protest march in London. With a career stretching back to the 1970s, 72-year-old British actress Frances de la Tour is is probably most well known to us Americans for playing Madame Maxime in the Harry Potter movies. Fandom may be ready, overdue even, for a female Doctor… but are they ready for one who's eleven and a half feet tall? Okay, that might have been movie magic. Wikipedia tells us de la Tour is actually 5'7". She's also apparently well known for starring in a British show called Rising Damp, which our U.K. readers may have heard of, but this reporter has not.
Of course, Peter Capaldi doesn't get to choose his successor. But perhaps he has some influence. Let us know what you think in the comments, which we intend to not read.