Former TARDIS resident David Tennant has shut down rumours that his Broadchurch co-star Olivia Colman will be the next Doctor Who – because she’s too busy.

Rumours of a female Doctor have been flying around since Tennant’s own casting back in 2006, and hunger for a gender-swapped protagonist have not lessened as time has gone on.

Unfortunately Tennant is pretty sure that, even if there is a Missy-esque surprise coming when the news is announced, Colman just isn’t in the running. He’s not wrong – the actress is a mainstay on British telly, and we wouldn’t want it any other way.

“I really don’t think that’s a serious option,” the actor told Entertainment Weekly. “Olivia is busier than any other actor on Earth. I don’t think she’d be able to suddenly take four years to go to Cardiff. I don’t think her schedule would really allow it whether she wanted to or not.”

Alongside Colman and every other British woman in existence, Tilda Switon, Haley Atwell and Phoebe Waller-Bridge have been favourites to take over from current Doctor Peter Capaldi.