20 Ways Your Favourite TV Shows Were Almost Completely Different

11. Doctor Who - Hugh Grant Could've Been The 9th Doctor

Paddington 2 Hugh Grant
StudioCanal

With a history spanning over 50 years, it's no surprise that there have been various cancelled plans for Doctor Who, and indeed various actors who've almost played the Time Lord (perhaps most famously, Brian Blessed turned down the part of the Second Doctor).

In terms of 'NuWho', though, the one who really stands out is Hugh Grant, who turned down the chance to play the Ninth Doctor ahead of the 2005 revival.

Grant himself has expressed regret at turning it down, and while Eccleston did a good (and underrated) job it would've been fascinating to see what he brought to the role.

The actor hasn't done much sci-fi work, so that would've been interesting to witness, and if he could've brought some of the same eccentricity and theatrical nature he'd later deliver as a villain in Paddington 2, it could've been something wonderful, and very different from Eccleston's version.

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Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.