According to an interview in The Sun, Bradley Walsh took a “leap of faith” when he agreed to play a role in Doctor Who Series 11.

“I was with Chris having lunch last year and he said: ‘Brad, I want you to do a job.’

“I said: ‘Sure, what?’ He said: ‘I can’t tell. It’s very, very secret. But you are the man for the job. It’s in Cardiff and will be a nine-month shoot.’

“I had another meeting and he said: ‘It is Doctor Who — not for the Doctor, though. We are going to change it around.’ I said: ‘Who is going to be the Doctor?’ He said: ‘We can’t tell.’

“So I said: ‘I can’t accept.’ He said: ‘But we want you. It will be an unbelievable journey. It will be ground-breaking. We are going to go for it. The BBC have trusted us.’ So I’m in. A leap of faith.” 

From the interview, it seems Walsh probably didn’t even know the name of or the type of character he would portray when he signed on.

Bradley Walsh will debut as the Doctor’s friend, Graham O’Brien in The Woman Who Fell to Earth on Sunday October 7.