According to former Doctor Who actor John Barrowman, the new Doctor should be a woman.
In an interview with ITVs Daybreak Barrowman who played Captain Jack Harkness said: “We’ve had great guys playing the role. The character of River Song was so popular in the last part of the series and it was such an impact, why shouldn’t we have a female doctor?”
The Arrow star said that if it doesn’t work out she can always regenerate back to a man.
I agree with him and so does Dame Helen Mirren who went a bit further and said: “I do think it’s well over-time to have a female ‘Doctor Who’ … I think a gay, black female ‘Doctor Who’ would be best of all.”
As much as I’d love to see a female Doctor Who, I think the River Song arc gave the Powers That Be an out. In River Song, we got to see a female Time Lord who went from being a white toddler to a black teen before regenerating into the River we know and love. They’ve basically experimented with the idea using one character. Although River wasn’t gay, I just don’t see them giving us a black female, gay Doctor.
Captain Jack was an omnisexual time traveller and although never blatantly mentioned, it seems the Doctor is bisexual if not omnisexual. So to have an outright gay Doctor would take away from the fact that the Doctor already has choices.
Also, thinking of my least favourite episodes, I’d hate for Doctor Who to get bogged down in another love fest like the agonising Rose Tyler affair. I’m a big fan of ambiguity and subtext though and the series has been good at that in the past.
We won’t know who the new Doctor is until August/September time but we can speculate in the meantime.
Rumours have suggested Idris Alba for the role but the same rumour mill has suggested the hunky actor for the role of James Bond.
Whoever, we get as the new Doctor. I’d like to see big adventures and fewer lovesick companions. But that’s just me.
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