Doctor Who casting rumours addressed by Death in Paradise star Kris Marshall

"I've never been approached."

By Sam Warner

9 Aug 2022

Death in Paradise star Kris Marshall has spoken on the perennial rumours that he could take over the TARDIS in Doctor Who, admitting he's "never been approached".

The actor has been on 'next Doctor' rumour lists a number of times in the past decade or so, notably when Peter Capaldi stepped down from the role, and again when Jodie Whittaker announced her departure.

While a regeneration into Marshall has never materialised, the actor has suggested that all those rumours never really had any substance in the first place.

Eamonn M. McCormackGetty Images

"If I'd been approached to audition for a show at the vanguard of TV for the last 50 years, I'd at least have done my research, but I've never seen an episode of Doctor Who," he told Radio Times.

"I'm sure it's brilliant, but no, I've never been approached."

Reflecting on why the speculation may have surfaced, Marshall suggested: "I left Death in Paradise at around the same time as Peter Capaldi left Doctor Who, so the tabloids must have put two and two together to make five."

BBC

Ncuti Gatwa is set to take over from Whittaker later this year as the Doctor, with his tenure on the show to be overseen by returning showrunner Russell T Davies.

Meanwhile, Marshall is set to return to the world of Death in Paradise in new spin-off Beyond Paradise, which focuses on his character Humphrey Goodman and is set in the UK.

"So, it's set in a rural setting in the south west. We start filming imminently, in about three weeks," he recently explained to Digital Spy. "We're in the process now, we've got most of the main cast but we're sort of casting some of the supporting roles."

Doctor Who's next special premieres in October 2022 on BBC One in the UK. In the US, the show airs on BBC America, with series 1-12 available on HBO Max.