Loading ...Fans want Helena Bonham Carter as first female Doctor Who
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THE new series of Doctor Who comes to BBC1 and BBC America next Saturday, April 23, with Matt Smith saying he has no intention of leaving the role.
But that hasn’t stopped fans suggesting who they might want to take up residence in the TARDIS in the future.
For a while, there has been talk about seeing a woman in the role.
And a new survey has found that devotees of the hit show name Helena Bonham Carter as the ideal choice to be the first female Doctor Who.
For the full list of contenders, click below.
Bonham Carter was Oscar-nominated for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in award-laden drama The King’s Speech, and will be seen on screen in July reprising her role as Bellatrix Lestrange in the final Harry Potter film.
Readers of sci-fi magazine SFX believe the star – known for her idiosyncratic sense of style – should be given the role if producers decide to make the Time Lord regenerate as a woman in the future.
Second place went to Tamsin Greig, who’s in Channel 4′s Friday Night Dinner and was recently seen in BBC2′s Episodes.
More than 2,000 fans voted in the poll at the magazine’s website.
Harry Potter actress Emma Watson, who has played Hermione Grainger throughout the hit film series, was the only actress under 30 to make the top five.
Dave Golder, online editor of SFX.co.uk said: "The Doctor has always been an eccentric and actresses don’t come much more eccentric than Helena.
"Of all the Doctors so far she is probably most like a female Tom Baker, though we can see little bits of Troughton, Tennant and Smith in there too."
However, thoughts of a female Doctor may be a little premature. At the launch of the latest series in London, actress Alex Kingston – who plays the show’s River Song – said: "I think the Doctor will always stay a male. I can’t imagine it."
In July 2008, previous Doctor Who executive producer Russell T. Davies said dysfunctional diva Amy Winehouse would make a brilliant Time Lord, but added that a gender-bending regeneration was unlikely because it would be confusing for younger viewers.
However, in December that year, Davies’ attitude softened and he suggested
Lesley Sharp and Catherine Zeta-Jones as his favourites for a female Doctor Who. Top five choices for a female Doctor according to SFX readers were:
1. Helena Bonham Carter
2. Tamsin Greig
3. Emma Thompson
4. Keeley Hawes
5. Emma Watson