Doctor Who: 10 Actors Who Should Replace Peter Capaldi

4. Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Hayley Atwell Doctor Who
Netflix

Why She'd Be Great

Gugu Mbatha-Raw is one of Britain's fastest rising stars at the minute, and is only going to continue to soar with roles in upcoming movies Beauty and the Beast, the Untitled Cloverfield Movie (formerly God Particle), and Ava DuVernay's A Wrinkle in Time.

She's shown her great dramatic talent in movies Belle and Beyond The Light, but her best audition for the role was Black Mirror's incredible San Junipero. There she's equal parts charming, mysterious, and totally captivating - plus there's sort of a time travel element - marking her out as a great candidate for the Doctor.

Chances Of It Happening

As her star rises, the chances of her leading Doctor Who are probably dissipating, and she's one of the least plausible candidates - though doesn't break into the realms of impossible or dream-casting - on the list.

She was linked with a role in Star Wars Episode VIII, which shows where she's headed, and those three movies named above are likely to be big. That said, she's worked on Doctor Who before - playing the sister of Martha Jones - and has made plenty of other TV appearances. She's making a splash in movies, but this is a leading role in a huge TV series, so maybe she could be tempted.

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.