10 Biggest Doctor Who 'What Ifs'
5. What If Dr. Who Was Canon?
Strangely enough, they're actually fans out there who indulge in the idea that the Peter Cushing movies fit into the Whoniverse. Even though this is theoretically impossible due to some obvious semantics. Not to mention that the films are re-treads of previously established events, rather than an actual expansion of the show. Then there's the simple fact that Dr. Who isn't a Time Lord.
Although it's an exciting prospect to wonder what could've been had Peter Cushing been considered an actual Doctor. Considering Human Nature established the concept of Time Lords being able to lock away their Time Lord consciousness, whilst hiding away in a human body. The most likely way of this being considered canon is by establishing Dr. Who as an alternative version of the titular character from a parallel universe.
If you want to take it further, maybe Dr. Who is one of the thousands of potential pre-Hartnell Doctor's. Considering the Morbius Doctors have now been made canon, anything seems possible at this point. Failing that, you could say that somebody modelled the films off The Doctor's actual adventures, which happened to be released within the Whoniverse. Either way, it's actually a massive shame that the talents of Peter Cushing couldn't have been taken much further within the universe of Doctor Who.