Searching for a New Tennant: More Casting Rumors Swirl Around "Doctor Who"

It's time again, ladies and gentlemen, for another update on the Doctor Who casting situation, namely who will be named David Tennant's successor as the Eleventh Doctor on the BBC drama. (Meanwhile, voting for the next Doctor continues apace at Televisionary, in my post about my top suggestions for possible replacements for Tennant.)

British tabloid The Mirror claims that the frontrunner to replace Tennant as the Doctor is 29-year-old former EastEnders star Tom Ellis. Ellis played Thomas Milligan in Season Three of Doctor Who but I can't help but think that The Mirror is off-base on this one.

While other guest stars have gone on to play other characters in the Who-universe (Freema Agyeman and Eve Myles, I am looking at you), this seems a rather odd choice to me, given the fact that Ellis is far less known than some of the other candidates and already played a crucial role in the Season Three finale endgame. (Besides, if anyone were to turn up again, I'd rather it be John Simm.)

The Mirror also says that Robert Carlyle (24: Redemption), Paterson Joseph (Jekyll), and David Morrissey (who appears in this year's Christmas special) are in the mix as well. (Before anyone reacts, remember: this is The Mirror, after all and not exactly a bastion of journalistic integrity.) One oddsmaker has Morrissey as the most likely contender.

As for James Nesbitt, whom many believed would take over as the Doctor, he says that he has no interest in the role, liking it to "career suicide."

Meanwhile, David Tennant hasn't completely ruled out a possible return to Doctor Who somewhere down the road, despite announcing his intent to leave the series at the end of 2009. "Who knows what might happen in the future?" said Tennant in an interview with BBC Breakfast. "The door isn't necessarily closed forever."

Tennant, however, has no idea about who would be his replacement and said that it could be anyone. "I actually think it's one of those parts that any actor could bring something very valid to, because he can be anything and because it's a sort of blank canvas every time," said Tennant. "In fact, the difference is the virtue with each doctor, it's not like recasting Tarzan, where you have to got someone who looks good in a loin cloth. It can sort of be anything."

(Hell, he even went so far as to suggest former series star Billie Piper could play the role.)

Take a look at Tennant's appearance on BBC Breakfast below:



Stay tuned.