The Next Doctor

William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davidson, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith (and apparently John Hurt which I'll get onto in a minute) have all played The Doctor during it's 50 years. All great actors and great Doctors in their own way. Now the Doctor will regenerate into it's 12th, or 13th incarnation after Matt Smith announced he was hanging up his sonic screwdriver recently.

Before I start discussing the next Doctor I think its important to discuss his forgotten incarnation who showed up at the end of the recent series finale episode 'The Name Of The Doctor'. Now my theory on this is that it's John Hurts Doctor who fought in the time war and made the decision which killed the Daleks and the Time-lords and destroyed his home world, Galafrey. Now, I'm not really versed on classic Who but this could place John Hurt between Mcgann and Eccleston. In any case it would make Matt Smith the 12th Doctor.

Now back to the most pressing of questions, Who will become the next Doctor? I've (with the help of Twitter friend and ex work colleague Mr Wayne Andrews) narrowed it down to 6 possibles. No doubt Moffat will completely disregard my opinions and go with an unknown (although that wasn't a bad idea last time), but hey oh, i can but speculate. In fact, talking about last time, I'd like to say a few things about Matt Smith. I was a huge fan of David Tennant. I guess he was my Doctor seen as he was why i started watching it! When he decided to call it a day I honestly didn't think he'd be surpassed. Matt Smith came bloody close, let me tell you. When you consider how complex some of Moffats plots are, it's testament to Smiths ability as an actor that he can still hold the viewers attention. He has proved to be a superb Doctor and will be a very hard act to follow, although I said that about Tennant!

Now onto the next Doctor.....

KEN STOTT

Now don't laugh, Ken Stott would make a great Doctor. He was great as Rebus and in Messiah and is currently somewhere in Middle Earth dressed as a dwarf! After the relative youth of Tennant and the obvious youth of Matt Smith (my age you know), maybe it's time The Doctor regenerated into an older, more wiser version. I also think it'd be interesting to see the dynamic between Clara and Stotts older and grumpier Doctor.

STEPHEN MANAGAN

You know, of Green Wing fame, currently starring in Episodes? Stephen Managan is my preferred choice for the role. He's not as young as Matt Smith and at 40 years old, fits into the ideal age of The Doctor in my opinion. He also looks a bit wacky which would hale back to the likes of Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. Although known predominantly for his comedy roles I.e. Green Wing, I'm Alan Partridge and Episodes that wouldn't be a bad thing as regards to Doctor Who. Correct me if I'm wrong!

MARTIN FREEMAN

Although he's currently on his way to the lonely mountain pretending to be a hobbit, Freeman would surely jump at the chance to portray the iconic Doctor. Freeman has proved himself as a versatile actor in the likes of The Office and Sherlock and also has experience on big budget productions such as Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy and The Hobbit. He's also well known to Moffat via Sherlock. Of course many are championing Benedict Cumberbatch as the next Doctor but they really are forgetting that Freeman would make a superb Doctor and could be just the tonic after Smiths manic turn.

JOSEPH GILGUN

In my opinion, one of the most under rated actors on the television he's perhaps best known as friendly skin head Woody in This Is England and its subsequent tv spin offs. More recently he's been plying his trade on Channel 4's Misfits as Rudy. He brings something different to the shows he appears in and I think he'd be a different kind of Doctor but in a good way. He has a way of injecting humour into lines without really trying. I think he may struggle abit with some of the technical jargon but I do think he deserves his opportunity in a big show.

JULIAN BARRATT

Now Barratt is an outside chance but Im quite intrigued by what he'd bring to The Doctor. He is perhaps best known as elbow patch aficionado Howard Moon in The Mighty Boosh which is why I think he'd be great as the thirteenth Doctor (I'm officially assuming Jon Hurt was the ninth). He'd offer a new kind of Doctor, a new direction. He wouldn't be as manic as Smith or as talky as Tennant and would instead take The Doctor back to the days of Hartnell or Pertwee.

RUSSELL TOVEY

Russell Tovey was talked about as a possible successor to Tennant and was championed by a lot of fans, myself included. Out of all of my choices I think that Tovey has the best chance and he wouldn't be a bad choice. He's well known enough whilst also being relatively unknown if you get what I mean. He was superb in Being Human and The History Boys and is well known to Doctor Who fans having already appeared in two episodes (Voyage of the Damned and The End of Time if you're interested).

Now you may have noticed that there are no women in my list and that's because I'm not sure I would be happy with a female Doctor. The Doctor is a man in much the same way that James Bond is. I'm all for equal opportunities and all that, I'm a woman myself, but The Doctor should always remain male. I have no doubt that Miranda Hart would do a sterling job and I can almost imagine the moment Smith regenerates into Hart with some humour. I do find it difficult to see how it would work though, I really do.

Anyway, all of that aside, there you have my choices for the thirteenth Doctor. What do YOU think?