Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has revealed that the casting of a female Doctor will not be “a political decision”.

Speaking at a Q&A session at the Hay Festival, Moffat joked: “I don’t know why I’m the one who gets the grief for this. I’m the one who put the dialogue into the show to say it can happen.”

He explained: “Do you know how it will happen? It will not happen that somebody sits down and says we must turn the Doctor into a woman. That is not how you cast the Doctor. A person will pop into the showrunner’s head and they’ll think. ‘Oh my God, what if it was that person?’ And when that person is a woman, that’s the day it will happen.”

The writer added: “Casting is the dark arts of television. It is everything. That decision is central and absolute to everything you do. It’s the difference between a television programme and a sensation. So you don’t mess around with that; you don’t cast for any other reason than for passion and for aesthetics. It’s not a political decision, it’s an aesthetic decision and will always be.”

> Take a look at our five plausible candidates for a female Doctor.

Asked about the possibility of the Doctor’s companion being something other than a “[21st] century female”, Moffat commented: “I would consider that. I very nearly did it last time [with Clara].”

The showrunner also revealed at the festival that the BBC considered ending Doctor Who following David Tennant’s departure.

Series 8 is currently filming in Cardiff and will begin on BBC One in August.

> Here’s everything we know about Series 8 so far.

Who would you like to play a female Doctor? Let us know below!