Who will be the next Doctor?
- Publication: Today
- Date: 1986-12-18
- Author:
- Page:
- Language: English
THE Doctor is dead, long live the Doctor! Famed for regenerating from the dead at regular intervals — six times so far — Doctor Who is about to undergo another transmogrification, although this time the new face should be strangely familiar.
The BBC has decided that the present Doctor. Colin Baker, is due for replacement, and wants to kill off his present incarnation in the middle of the next series. But Baker is rather miffed at only being invited to do part of a series and will be announcing later today "whether he will do only part of a series or none at all", says his agent, Barry Burnett, darkly.
Sources in the entertainment world say that former Dr Who Patrick Troughton (1966-1970) is hot favourite to take on the role again, with his successor, Jon Pertwee (1970-1974), as second choice, following a somewhat lacklustre crop of recent incumbents.
Both are keen to have another bash at driving the Tardis. Patrick Troughton's agent, Maurice Lambert, says his man would like to have a second bash at the sci-fi series as long as it didn't clash with his existing commitments.
And Pertwee obviously feels the same.
"Jon would look very seriously at doing the role again," says his agent, Phillip Ettinger.
"Although he's due to go to New Zealand in 1987 to film another series of Wurzel Gummidge and that might conflict with doing the Doctor."
Meanwhile the Beeb is remaining tight-lipped over the affair.
"We won't be considering a replacement until after Colin's announcement," mutters a spokesman.
But fans might be disappointed to learn that Bonnie Langford, the Doctor's latest assistant, won't be killed off with her boss — her contract has been renewed for the whole series.
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: (1986-12-18). Who will be the next Doctor?. Today .
- MLA 7th ed.: "Who will be the next Doctor?." Today [add city] 1986-12-18. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: "Who will be the next Doctor?." Today, edition, sec., 1986-12-18
- Turabian: "Who will be the next Doctor?." Today, 1986-12-18, section, edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Who will be the next Doctor? | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Who_will_be_the_next_Doctor%3F | work=Today | pages= | date=1986-12-18 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=29 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Who will be the next Doctor? | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Who_will_be_the_next_Doctor%3F | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=29 March 2025}}</ref>
