Doctor Who: Will This British Actress Be The 13th Doctor?

Peter Capaldi’s tenure on Doctor Who isn’t entirely complete, with the actor set to bid farewell to the show in December’s highly-anticipated Christmas special.

Nevertheless, heavy speculation has been sparked about who will take over as the show’s Thirteenth Doctor. And now, it appears that rumors have circled around a fan-favorite British actress, Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

In an interview back in May, Waller-Bridge was asked if she will be stepping into the role of the Doctor. The actress, who is set to appear in the upcoming Han Solo anthology film, gave a particularly coy answer. And it’s one that fans, and even BBC’s Newsnight, have begun to speculate about.

“I am not allowed to say anything about that, one way or the other.” Waller-Bridge explained, after a bit of nervous laughter. “It’d be cool, but I’m doing other stuff.”

Some have believed that Waller-Bridge’s avoidance of the question fuels the fire of her potential casting. Many fans – and even past cast members David Tennant and Karen Gillan – have hoped that the ushering in of Doctor Who‘s new showrunner, Chris Chibnall, will bring a female Doctor into the mix. (Chibnall, we might add, has already worked with Waller-Bridge on his hit series Broadchurch.)

These hopes were then increased by some choice lines of dialogue from Doctor Who‘s recent season finale, making the speculation around Waller-Bridge’s comments feel even more timely.

While past rumors have hinted at Tilda Swinton, Olivia Colman, and Hayley Atwell taking on the role, Waller-Bridge is certainly a credible candidate. Doctor Who fans will just have to wait and see if she isn’t going to play the part (as a recent tweet from her theatre company seems to suggest), or if she’s just bluffing.

Peter Capaldi took over as The Doctor in Season 8, after Matt Smith’s departure. After three seasons, he will depart the show alongside showrunner Steven Moffat, who has steered the series since Season 5. Moffat was a breakout writer during the Russell T. Davies seasons of Doctor Who.

Moffat will be handing the reins over to Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall for Doctor Who Season 11. Chibnall is a longtime Doctor Who fans who also wrote for the series during the Russell T. Davies era and was head writer on the Doctor Who spinoff series Torchwood.

Doctor Who Season 10 also introduced Pearl Mackie as the new companion, Bill Potts, replacing the previous companion, Jenna Coleman’s Clara Oswald, who left after Season 9. Whether she will join the new Doctor in Doctor Who Season 11 is still unknown.

The Doctor Who Season 10 finale airs tonight at 9 p.m. ET on BBC America.

Source: The Mirror

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