Doctor Who: 10 Actors Who Almost Played Different Characters
8. Alex Kingston
Who She Almost Played: Miss Foster
Who She Actually Played: River Song
Alex Kingston played one of the most popular supporting characters in Doctor Who history after bagging the role of River Song in the 2008 two-part story Silence In The Library/Forest Of The Dead, appearing in multiple episodes with the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors, and then reprising the role in many Big Finish audio dramas.
Conversely, the character she almost played is nowhere near as beloved, although it's a fun part that would've suited Kingston really well.
The actress was apparently asked to play Miss Foster in the Series 4 premiere Partners In Crime. Foster is the villain of the episode, a space nanny who enacts a scheme to create millions of young Adipose creatures out of human body fat.
Funnily enough, Partners In Crime and Silence In The Library both aired in the same series, so it seems like Kingston was destined to play a role in Doctor Who around this time, no matter which character it ended up being. She was a fan of the show as a child too, so she was probably quite eager to appear in it!