Bill Nighy has confirmed that he turned down the chance to play the Doctor.

Nighy was rumoured to be in the running for the 9th Doctor before Christopher Eccleston got the part. The Daily Mail even went so far to report Nighy had won the role back in 2004.

Nighy revealed to The People: “I was offered the role once, I won’t tell you when because the rule is that you’re not allowed to say you turned that job down because it’s disrespectful to whoever did it. I will say that I was approached.

“But I didn’t want to be the Doctor. No disrespect to Doctor Who or anything. I just think that it comes with too much baggage.”

Of course, Nighy eventually found his way on to the show anyway appearing as Van Gogh expert Dr. Black in Vincent and the Doctor.