Alan Cumming's casting as King James I in the next series of Doctor Who continues a long and grand tradition of the BBC's sci-fi stalwart securing big-name guest stars.

Carey Mulligan. Simon Pegg. Derek Jacobi. Even actual Kylie Minogue.

But for every casting coup, there's been a near-miss: famous faces who were approached, or had roles written for them, but who ended up turning down the Doctor.

Here's who missed out on a trip in the TARDIS.

1. Kate Winslet

GETTY IMAGES / MIKE WINDLE / STAFF / BBC

It's now all but impossible to imagine anyone but the wonderful Alex Kingston personifying River Song, but Russell T Davies originally had Winslet in mind for the role of the archaeologist.

Long before she was an Oscar winner, a young Winslet had appeared in RTD's BBC teen fantasy series Dark Season and he'd hoped to arrange a reunion in Doctor Who's fourth series in 2008.

It was not to be, but Davies was every bit as enthused by Kingston's casting. "I bloody love her!" he told journalist Benjamin Cook, in a series of e-mails later published as a book (The Writer's Tale) in 2008.

2. Dennis Hopper

Philip Ramey/Corbis/BBC Getty Images

The late, great Hopper was considered for two different roles opposite Kylie and David Tennant in 2007's Christmas special, the Titanic-in-space tale 'Voyage of the Damned'.

He was considered for the part of kindly Mr Copper (eventually played by Clive Swift), before being offered the role of cyborg villain Max Capricorn.

According to Russell T Davies – again, in The Writer's Tale – Hopper did consider it, but eventually passed and George Costigan (Happy Valley, Line of Duty) was cast as Capricorn instead. No offence to Costigan, but we'd love to have seen Hopper do his unhinged villain schtick on Who.

3. Hugh Grant

Mike Marsland/WireImage/BBC Getty Images

Relaunching Doctor Who in 2005, RTD was keen to secure a big name for the lead and, prior to securing Christopher Eccleston's services, actually approached Grant to play the ninth Doctor.

It's fascinating now to think how Grant might have approached the part. Eccleston, after all, seems a perfect fit for the haunted, post-Time War incarnation that Davies had devised.

The Paddington 2 star ended up passing on the role, though regretted it when the revival ended up becoming a critical and ratings smash. "It's only when you see it on screen that you think, 'Damn, that was good, why did I say no?'" Grant admitted in 2006.

4. Scott Bakula

D Dipasupil/Getty Images for Extra/BBC

Farscape's Ben Browder was a terrific get for Doctor Who, bringing some Yank authenticity to town marshall Isaac in 2012's sci-fi western 'A Town Called Mercy'.

But Bakula – himself a science-fiction icon after roles in Quantum Leap and Star Trek: Enterprise – was the production team's first pick. He had to pass when filming dates clashed with other commitments. Oh boy!

5. Helen Mirren

ALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images/BBC

Fans campaigning for Dame Helen to someday take up the controls of the TARDIS might be onto a hiding for nothing. "I so do not want to play Doctor Who, I really don't," she told Digital Spy back in 2013.

But a few years prior, Russell T Davies had Mirren in mind for a different part – that of Adelaide Brooke, strong-willed captain of Bowie Base One in 2009 special 'The Waters of Mars'.

Lindsay Duncan ended up landing the part, ably filling the role of companion in one of David Tennant's final episodes.

6. Nicholas Hoult

Craig Barritt/Getty Images for AT&T/BBC

Post-About a Boy but just before he landed his comeback role in Skins, future X-Men star Hoult came close to playing young Tommy Connolly in 2006's '50s-fest 'The Idiot's Lantern'.

The episode's writer, Mark Gatiss, revealed that Hoult was ultimately considered too young for the part, which ended up going to Rory Jennings, who was then in his early 20s but appeared convincingly teenage on screen.

7. Louise Brealey

Ian Gavan/Getty Images/BBC

Years before she won a legion of fans as Molly Hooper in Sherlock, Brealey went up for Rose Tyler – an amazing bit of trivia that she nonchalantly dropped into an interview with What's On Stage in 2015.

Billie Piper ended up beating both Brealey and Georgia Tennant (then Moffett) to the part, the latter eventually appearing in Doctor Who as Jenny, the Doctor's daughter.

8. David Bowie

MAURIZIO GAMBARINI/AFP/Getty Images/BBC

Sharaz Jek, a villain from Peter Davison's 1984 swansong, 'The Caves of Androzani', is one of Doctor Who's all-time great baddies, played with superb menace by Christopher Gable.

First choice for the role, though? None other than Bowie. Alas, his management declined, since filming dates clashed with the star's Serious Moonlight Tour.

Tim Curry and Mick Jagger(!) were also considered prior to Gable being cast.

9. Phil Collins

Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images/BBC/FOX

Oh Lord. Oh Lord.

Yes, Genesis frontman and 'In the Air Tonight' hitmaker Collins was on a list of names considered for the part of The Master in the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie.

His is far from the only surprising name on the longlist: Sting and Tom Selleck were also considered before Eric Roberts stepped up.

Prior to this, in 1988, Collins had released his Grammy-winning hit 'Two Hearts' – a song all about his love for Doctor Who. (Not really.)

Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Twitter account and you're all set.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io