10 Behind The Scenes Reasons For Doctor Who Characters' Quirks

5. Replace His Lost Hair With A Wig

Sylvester McCoy Doctor Who
BBC

This is a really bizarre one. Initially when Paul McGann auditioned for the Eighth Doctor he had a full head of hair. Strangely this appearance, alongside his charming performance, eventually won him the role. Naturally, like a lot of actors, McGann underwent filming elsewhere in-between projects. Thus by the time he came back to begin filming Doctor Who his hair length had changed. Quite dramatically in fact.

This greatly upset producer Philip Segal, who felt the look he wanted for his version of the Doctor was now completely lost due to McGann's shaven head. There seems to be a running theme developing with the leads having issues with hair length. Instead of rolling with it, as was the case later on with Matt Smith, Segal ordered that a wig be made at once to replicate the hair length, and style, that McGann donned during his auditions.

Needless to say that a lot of money was wasted on a somewhat unnecessary prop, to which McGann wasn't all that comfortable wearing. In fact he wanted the Doctor to look more rugged around the edges, and was deeply disappointed when Segal refused his wishes in favour of a wig replacement. It became more ironic upon Christopher Eccleston's arrival on the scene in 2005 when he was allowed to have a shaven head for the look of his Doctor. It's fair to say many jokes have been thrown McGann's way at the expense of the wig, particularly by his Big Finish companion Lucie Miller, but at least he would eventually get multipe costume remodels down the line that more resembled the look McGann originally intended.

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Loving husband and full-time nerd. My pastime is analysing and sharing my thoughts on things. I dabble with video games, enjoy a good horror movie, and love my superhero content. And Doctor Who is my favourite show of all times.