Doctor Who star Paul McGann is open the idea of returning as the Eighth Doctor “every now and again.”

The actor made his debut as the Time Lord nearly 20 years ago in 1996’s ‘TV Movie’ and reprised the role in 2013’s minisode ‘The Night of the Doctor’, which earned 2.5 million views across YouTube, iPlayer and the BBC Red Button in its first week alone.

Fans have petitioned since then for McGann to return.

McGann told DS: “I don’t mind doing a little bit every now and again and stealing all the glory! It’s quite fun. You’re coming in at the 89th minute and scoring the winning penalty – yeah, I’ll do that.”

He joked: “Whereas poor old [Peter] Capaldi’s gotta do nine months and 16-hour days. Yeah, OK, let him do that. Let someone else do the heavy lifting!”

McGann added: “Just on a personal level, if I ever had misgivings – just about being in Doctor Who in the first place, or the nature of it – they’ve long since gone. I really enjoy it. It’s a good family to be part of – and it’s still going places. It’s a lovely thing to be associated with.”

> Buy the complete Season 9 box set on DVD on Amazon.

> Buy the complete Season 9 box set on Blu-ray on Amazon.

The new season of Doctor Who is expected to begin filming in May.

> Here’s everything we know so far about Season 10.

Peter Capaldi recently revealed that his time as the Doctor could be coming to an end: “This could be my final year. It’s terrifying. I love Doctor Who but it can be quite an insular world and I do want to do other things.”

Would you like to see Peter Capaldi’s Doctor meet Paul McGann’s Doctor? Let us know below…