With Jodie Whittaker officially concluding her run as the 13th Doctor and Russell T Davies set to return as Doctor Who showrunner to replace Chris Chibnall, fans have long started to speculate about the most fitting actor for the role of the iconic Time Lord. While the BBC is known for its secrecy when it comes to revealing the new identity of this character, there are clear favorites that fans believe (and hope) will take up the mantle of the 14th Doctor.
Doctor Who, a hugely popular BBC show that originally ran from 1963-1989 and was successfully rebooted by Russel T Davies in 2005, follows the adventures of an alien Time Lord who travels across time and space in a signature blue police box and occasionally 'sheds' his form to avoid certain death. The Doctor's ingenious regeneration ability allows for the show's seamless continuity, with the change of the lead actor written into the very character.
During the modern era, the Doctor's role was taken up by Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, and Peter Capaldi. In 2018, Chibnall, the show's current showrunner, made a controversial decision to cast Jodie Whittaker, who previously starred in Broachurch alongside David Tennant, as the first-ever female Doctor in the history of the show. The decision was met with mixed reactions from the fans, although many of them appreciated Whittaker's performance but were disappointed in Chibnall's writing that didn't give the first female Doctor a proper chance to shine.
Chibnall and Whittaker have finished filming their last season, which — for the first time since 1986 — will tell one continuous story, spread across six episodes. While the 13th Doctor's regeneration has already been shot, the first scenes with the next Time Lord are traditionally filmed much later so that even Whittaker is kept in the dark as to the Doctor's new face. However, that doesn't stop the fans from guessing the show's new lead and deciding on the most likely candidates worthy of the iconic role.
Michael Sheen
The Welsh actor, who gained increased popularity due to his role as the angel Aziraphale in the highly successful Good Omens and his part in the hilarious lockdown series Staged, has come first in the recent Radio Times poll of 10,000 Whovians, aimed to determine the fan-favorite candidate. While Sheen has previously briefly appeared on Doctor Who, voicing the sinister House in the "The Doctor's Wife" episode, it wouldn't be unheard of for the actor to reappear on the show — as one example, Karen Gillian, who went on to play the 11th Doctor's companion, Amy Pond, and Peter Capaldi, who ended up taking the role as the 12th Doctor, both appeared in the episode "The Fires of Pompeii" before their prominent roles.
Sheen has proven himself as a talented actor — with four BAFTAs, one Welsh BAFTA, two Royal Television Society Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award under his belt to prove it — and his innate likeability and quirky personality would undoubtedly fit the Doctor's persona, choosing a white, male candidate for the role might be seen as a retrograde step for BBC and cause upheaval among the fans. However, if selected, he could still win over audiences under Davies' direction and the stories to match his capabilities.
Olly Alexander
Davies is known for recasting actors he has worked with in the past — including the previous Doctors, David Tennant and Christopher Eccleston, who played lead roles in Davies' shows Casanova and The Second Coming, respectively. So it's no surprise that Olly Alexander, the star of his recent successful drama, It's a Sin, is considered by many to be a frontrunner for the Time Lord role. He even battled the Daleks as a fictional '80s actor on that show, which reassures the fans that he can more than handle the job.
On top of that, Alexander would be the first LGBTQ+ lead that would continue pushing the show in a more progressive direction. Considering that Davies was the first showrunner to introduce a non-heterosexual character (Captain Jack Harkness) and has been openly supporting the LGBTQ+ community both in his work and statements, this factor might play a role in his casting decision. However, Alexander is also an established musician, performing under the name Years & Years, and has denied the rumors of his appointment as the next Doctor as he admittedly wants to focus on his music career. But many fans are still hoping for it to be a clever ruse to throw them off the scent.
Lydia West
Following the same logic of Davies recasting his previous actors, Lydia West, who shone both in It's a Sin and a future-set socio-political drama Years and Years, is also a strong contender for the role. The fact that West has also starred in Dracula, a BBC show from another Doctor Who showrunner, Stephen Moffat, as well as his upcoming thriller Inside Man (that will feature West alongside David Tennant), has appeared opposite Arthur Darvill (Doctor's previous companion, Rory) in a short film We Know What You Did in Lockdown, and voiced a role in a Doctor Who audio story "Donna Noble: Kidnapped," already classifies her as part of Doctor Who family in many fans' eyes.
While still young and on the rise of her career, West is a charismatic performer and an excellent actress who would continue the trend of a female Doctor and bring a breath of fresh air to the established BBC set.
T'Nia Miller
The star of Netflix's The Haunting of Bly Manor and Davies' Years and Years, T'Nia Miller, has already briefly appeared on Doctor Who as the General, another Time Lord no less, in the 12th Doctor's episode "Hell Bent." Her regeneration showed a female Time Lord, long before Jodie Whittaker's portrayal of the Doctor. Miller has previously admitted her eagerness to play the 14th if ever asked and even alleged that she knows the next Doctor personally.
Miller has certainly proven that she has the dramatic chops to face both serious and comedic aspects of the role, and with fans — including the former Doctor from the classic era, Colin Baker — asking for more diversity on the show, she can be a choice that would satisfy many.
Richard Ayoade
The quirky, geeky, and socially awkward Moss from IT Crowd, Richard Ayoade, is one of the fan favorites for the Doctor's role and has come second, just after Sheen, in the Radio Times poll and first in the one by Metro.co.uk. Ayoade could bring in off-beat humor, dry wit, and distinctive personality to shape an eccentric and certainly unique Doctor.
However, some fans are concerned that, if chosen, Ayoade's somewhat deadpan performance might lack the emotional depth that made David Tennant's and Matt Smith's Doctors so memorable and beloved. It would undoubtedly be a controversial decision, but if Ayoade manages to shake off his associated persona and expand in the role, he might yet surprise the fans and win them over.