Donald Sumpter in Hell Bent (Picture: BBC)

Guess what? In a parallel universe, the last series of Doctor Who would have featured a guest appearance from Timothy Dalton.

Fans will remember that Dalton turned up in the last David Tennant story before his regeneration, The End Of Time (2009), playing the scheming Rassilon. But in a recent interview, director Rachel Talalay admitted that they approached him to reprise the role for last year’s series finale, Hell Bent.

When Dalton proved unavailable, the character regenerated into Donald Sumpter, who was brilliant – but we thought this was a good opportunity to look at some of the other times this happened…



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1. Bernard Cribbins and Howard Attfield (2008)

The Runaway Bride (2006) not only introduced us to Donna but to her family – Mum Sylvia and Dad Geoff. Howard Attfield was all set to return as Geoff when Donna returned as a permanent companion in series four, but sadly died before filming was completed, so the producers then approached TV legend Bernard Cribbins to co-star as her grandfather. (Cribbins had already appeared in 2007’s Voyage Of The Damned as a newspaper vendor, but no one could have guessed his connection with the Nobles.)

2. Brian Blessed and Patrick Troughton (1966)

Casting the Doctor himself is always a minefield – Benedict Cumberbatch, Bill Nighy and Hugh Grant are among the people who have been offered the role, only to turn it down – but one of the most notorious changes was in 1966 when Brian Blessed was offered the part of the Second Doctor. He had to decline because of scheduling conflicts with Z-Cars, so it went to Patrick Troughton instead. Blessed would eventually appear in the show in 1986, playing a notorious barbarian ruler.

3. Elisabeth Sladen and April Walker (1973)

Memo to self: if you’re casting a companion, make sure the leading man likes her. Jon Pertwee failed to click with April Walker, who was cast as ace reporter Sarah Jane Smith in 1973, so producer Barry Letts quickly replaced her with Elisabeth Sladen, and the rest is history.

If you’re wondering what the show would have been like with April Walker, here she is in The Two Ronnies.

4. Christopher Eccleston and John Hurt (2013)

2013 was a pivotal year for Doctor Who – the show celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, Steven Moffat rewrote the end of the Time War and we found out about a whole new Doctor that had been hiding away all these years. Still, things could have been very different – the original concept for Day Of The Doctor saw Matt Smith and David Tennant teaming up with Christopher Eccleston, who opted not to return for the anniversary episode (although he was ‘three quarters talked into it’). Instead, Moffat cast John Hurt, who is brilliant.



5. Kate Winslet and Alex Kingston (2008)

It’s hard to imagine River Song being played by anyone except Alex Kingston – but it could have been Kate Winslet. When it came to filming River’s first story, Silence In The Library, Russell T Davies wanted the Titanic star to portray the Doctor’s (sort of) wife, but the role eventually went to Kingston – mind you, Davies admitted to writer Benjamin Cook that he ‘bloody loves her’, so everything worked out fine.

6. Anthony Head and Paul McGann (1996)

In the mid nineties, Doctor Who would burst onto our screens in the form of a ninety minute TV movie. Casting the Doctor himself proved tricky – most of the writers’ early choices were unavailable, while Anthony Head and Tony Slattery didn’t make it past the audition stage. The role was eventually given to Paul McGann, who went on to make it his own, on TV and in the Big Finish audio dramas. (Curiously, two of the other actors who were invited to audition but decided not to were Christopher Eccleston and Peter Capaldi, who – oh, you know the rest.)

Here’s Anthony Head taunting the Tenth Doctor in School Reunion (2006).

7. Richard E Grant and Robbie Williams (2003)

Yes, really. When Doctor Who was briefly resurrected in the form of an animated web story, Scream Of The Shalka (2003), the producers approached none other than Robbie Williams to voice the unofficial Ninth Doctor. When Williams proved unavailable, they cast Richard E Grant instead.

(If you think that’s weird, Paramount pictures were once considering a movie version – starring Michael Jackson, or, failing that, Bill Cosby…)


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