The prime minister says she is looking forward to seeing a female Doctor Who, and would like a woman to fill 007’s shoes



Theresa May has backed calls for a woman to play James Bond, revealing she was looking forward to watching Jodie Whittaker as the first female Doctor Who on Christmas Day.

The prime minister said she enjoyed watching the BBC programme and heralded the decision to give the iconic role to Whittaker as “girl power”.

“I do like watching Doctor Who at Christmas,” she told reporters on board her RAF Voyager plane en route to give a festive address to troops at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.

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“I think it’s a great move forward for girl power that there is going to be a female Doctor Who. And one day there should be a female James Bond.”

But the prime minister remained coy over which actor she would prefer to take on the role of 007 after Daniel Craig, but tipped War and Peace star James Norton for the part.

“I don’t know who is being lined up. I read the other day that James Norton was being talked about as a possible James Bond. I think he did an interview where he said he’d quite like to,” she said.

Asked if he was her preference for part, May said: “That’s a leading question! I don’t know who the other candidates might be.”

May is set to address troops at the RAF base which is the main airbase for British forces operations against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. She is also set to visit service families for a festive event at an early years children’s centre, before flying back for the Christmas break.