Posted in: BBC, Doctor Who, TV | Tagged: bbc, bookies, doctor who, Lydia West, russell t davies

Big Bets On Lydia West As The New Doctor Who Caused Market Crash

Earlier this week, all the bookmakers in the UK closed the books on new bets for the next Doctor Who, to take over the role from Jodie Whittaker. With Olly Alexander the 2:1 favourite, the presumption was that someone in Cardiff had walked into a bookies and bet ten grand on Olly. When the books slowly reopened this week, Olly was now 1:2, very low odds indeed.

Word reaches Bleeding Cool however that the actual suspect bets that closed the market were for one Lydia West. An actor who has previously appeared in Big Finish episodes of Doctor Who, as well as his show Years And Years and It's A Sin. And one who has certainly been rumoured for the past few months, but was never a bookies' favourite. Apparently, there was a purported leaked e-mail that allegedly stated (enough weasel words for you?) that Lydia West was the number one choice. With the knowledge that Russell T Davies likes to cast Doctor Whos from people he has previously worked with, it appears that someone went all in, and made big bets. One bookmaker pulled the book on Doctor Who, and the others followed suit. Indeed, when the books did reopen in some bookies, Lydia West's name was missing.  I talked to representatives of longstanding UK bookmakers, asking for odds on Lydia West this morning, and they added her, giving me 14:1 odds. I wonder how long that will last?

Now, none of this means that Lydia West is the next Doctor Who. It just means that some people think she is. And are willing to put a lot of money where their speculation is. If you can find someone willing to take a bet, and you get good odds, you might have a flutter with a tenner. Hell, I once bet fifty quid on Paterson Joseph at 50:1 before I was able to announce the news about Matt Smith before anyone else. Too late to change my bet, sadly…

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