In this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special, Twice Upon A Time, Steven Moffat is giving us an episode with three Doctors in it. There’s Jodie Whittaker coming in at the end, of course. Peter Capaldi, meanwhile, will feature in his final Who adventure. And then there’s David Bradley, playing the first Doctor in the style of William Hartnell.
It’s the second time that that the first Doctor has been recast in Doctor Who history, with Richard Hurndall taking on the role The Five Doctors back in 1983. And in a new interview, Steven Moffat was asked whether he thought the option was there to recast more of the older Doctors in the same way. Or does he think it only works with the first?
“I don’t think there’s anything special about the First Doctor in that sense. Except maybe the wig helps”, he told TV Choice. “It was more of a calculated look, in a curious way. It’s one of the most distinctive looks the Doctor’s ever had. If you had somebody who could do a brilliant Patrick Troughton, who was really spot on and captured the essence of that performance, I think, yes, you would accept it in the same sort of way. It’s tough – it really has to be spot on. But I bet it happens someday”.
Reece Shearsmith did briefly take on the role of Troughton in An Adventure In Space And Time, of course. Whether we see more adventures of the second Doctor on the screen, though, remains to be seen…