Who Could Ve Been Who An Alternate History Of Doctor Who

FIRST DOCTOR The first Doctor could have been noted Irish actor Cyril Cusack or Hugh David who directed a couple of Troughton tales or Leslie French who appeared as a mathematician in the McCoy era. William Hartnell was cast after producer Verity Lambert saw him giving a rare character performance as “Dad” Johnson, an ageing sports agent in Lindsay Anderson’s This Sporting Life. Hartnell relished the chance to abandon the Army roles he had become famous for, notably in ITV’s The Army Game and as Sgt Grimshaw in the trailblazing Carry On Sergeant. Though only 55 when cast in 1963, Hartnell’s health deteriorated and he eventually became too ill to play the part he loved.
SECOND DOCTOR Patrick Troughton was the production team’s first choice for the second Doctor, even apparently being suggested by William Hartnell. Other actors considered were Rupert Davies, already famous as Maigret, Valentine Dyall, radio’s Man In Black, later Who‘s Black Guardian and Michael Horden, the distinguished character actor, who went on to charm children as the voice of Paddington Bear. None of these actors wished to commit to a long-running series. Once the concept of regeneration had been established and Troughton had proved successful, the potential for the BBC to change the lead actor whenever required (or desired) became Doctor Who‘s unique selling point.
As man stepped onto the moon it was decided Doctor Who should come down to earth. This was essentially for economic reasons to allow the new series to be made in colour. A new lead was required. Top the list was Ron Moody…
Ron Moody, JON PERTWEE Ron Moody was at the height of his powers after his success as Fagin in Carol Reed’s musical Oliver!, however, he didn’t want to be tied to a particular role. Actor Tenniel Evans suggested the role to his Navy Lark co-star Jon Pertwee. As a middle-aged eccentric character actor, Pertwee felt he had little chance of being offered the part (strangely missing the point!). When Pertwee’s agent approached producer Derrick Sherwin at the BBC he was amazed to find his client second on the list after Ron Moody! FOURTH DOCTOR Bernard Cribbins, Jim Dale, Michael Bentine, Fulton MacKay, Graeme Crowden, Richard Hearne, TOM BAKER In early 1974, producer Barry Letts was tasked with casting the fourth Doctor. Potential Doctors this time around included Bernard Cribbins, who appeared in the spin-off Peter Cushing Doctor Who movie Daleks Invasion Earth: 2150AD, Jim Dale, star of several Carry On films as well as children’s films like Digby The Biggest Dog In The World. Sometime Goon, Michael Bentine was interested but wanted script approval. Fulton MacKay, a year away from his most celebrated role as Mr MacKay in Porridge had impressed Letts in Doctor Who and The Silurians. Graeme Crowden, later to co-star with Peter Davison in A Very Peculiar Practice only wanted to do the role for one season. Richard Hearne, best known as eccentric children’s TV character Mr Pastry offered a version of the Pastry character as an approach to The Doctor.
FIFTH DOCTOR Richard Griffiths, PETER DAVISON SIXTH DOCTOR COLIN BAKER SEVENTH DOCTOR Ken Campbell, Alexei Sayle, Tony Robinson, Dermot Crowley, SYLVESTER McCOY Cancelled in December 1989, the show spent several years in production limbo with occasional suggestions of how it may one day return and who might be The Doctor. Eric Idle, David Warner and Donald Sutherland were suggested largely by the tabloids on slow news days. Fans of Doctor Who grew more resigned to the fact the show wasn’t going to return anytime soon and greeted each new announcement with increasing scepticism.
EIGHTH DOCTOR In 1996 the BBC and Universal brought back Doctor Who as a one-off special for Whit Monday. Paul McGann was a reluctant eighth Doctor. Screen-tested this time were Robert Lindsay, who memorably met the Daleks as Michael Murray in a sublime scene from Alan Bleasdale’s GBH; improv comedy stars John Sessions and Tony Slattery, a pre-Buffy Anthony Head, Mark McGann (one of Paul’s three acting siblings) and Michael Crawford, who despite fame as T.P. Barnum and The Phantom Of The Opera will always be Frank Spencer. Although ratings and reviews were good in the UK, the film flopped in the US where it was scheduled opposite the last-ever Roseanne and so Doctor Who returned to TV limbo.
In the late nineties a number of A-List Hollywood actors were in the frame if the series was ever made into a blockbuster movie. Everyone from Laurence Fishburne to Tom Selleck were linked to the role. In Britain Richard Briers got the nod as did respected character actor Michael Sheard. Although best known as the stern Mr Bronson in Grange Hill, Sheard notched up several credits in Doctor Who itself working with many of the Doctors.
NINTH DOCTOR Alan Davies, Stephen Fry, Bill Nighy, Alan Rickman, CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON Jonathan Creek star Alan Davies was an early front runner, Stephen Fry was again suggested. Bill Nighy got the vote of those after an older Doctor, whilst Alan Rickman, so effective in the Harry Potter films, was the eccentric choice. Casting Christopher Eccleston in April 2004 Russell T Davies signalled the show was a serious undertaking that actors wouldn’t be allowed to take lightly.This in turn ensured a queue of high quality actors desperate to appear on the revamped show.
DAVID TENNANT Was the Tenth Doctor always going to be David Tennant? “The clues are there…” Russell T Davies cryptically told Mark Lawson in a recent BBC4 interview. Certainly Tennant, cast as Casanova in Davies’ production of the classic novel, was in the writer’s mind as a potential replacement. Russell T Davies knew from the outset Christopher Eccleston had only committed himself to one season but was somewhat caught out when the story leaked to the press. Mark Gatiss, who at one stage was part of a consortium trying to bring the show back, is one of a number of names who would relish the part. When he discovered his friend David Tennant had been asked, Gatiss encouraged him all the way.