As Peter Capaldi finishes his run as the Doctor in the BBC sci-fi series “Doctor Who,” there has been no word yet on who is going to replace him after he bows out in Season 10.
Karen Gillan, who played former Companion Amy Pond to the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith), said that it is time for the show to entertain a female actor as the new Time Lord. Talking to “On This Morning,” a British talk show, she said, “Actually, just because so many people have questioned whether a woman can play the role, and I think that’s completely ridiculous. Like, of course, an actress can play the role.”
Although fans consider “Agent Carter”’s Hayley Atwell, “Doctor Strange” star Tilda Swinton and “Game of Thrones” actress Natalie Dormer, Gillan had already one in mind: Dame Helen Mirren.
She added that whoever the show would choose, she nonetheless believes that having a woman casted as the new Doctor shouldn’t be a gender issue. She explained, “So many people have questioned if a woman could play the role and of course, the doctor isn’t bound by gender.”
Gillan’s opinion on the show was just right, considering the time she spent on the long-running franchise. She was Amy Pond to Smith’s Doctor from 2010-2012, Digital Spy said. She later appeared in a 2013 episode, which was Smith’s last in “Doctor Who” and marked his exit.
On the other hand, Capaldi himself is open to the possibility of a woman replacement. Telling USA Today on the phone, he said, "Why not? I think that would be a very likely thing to have happen. A very good thing, too."
