Sir Ben Kingsley: could the man who won an Oscar playing Ghandi really be about to play one of Doctor Who's most ridiculous villains? Photograph: Eamonn McCabe
Another day, another incredible-sounding Doctor Who casting rumour in The Sun, and another chance to juggle the spheres of speculation and decide whether we believe it.
This morning, it was reported that Sir Ben Kingsley is on the verge of signing up to play Davros, creator of the Daleks, in next year's fourth series. Of course, without any confirmation from the BBC, this could amount to anything from a contract being drafted, an idea being flung round a Cardiff production meeting, or Victoria Newton sticking a pin in her Big Book Of Bald Actors and hoping for the best. After all, Steven Moffat was moved to quash last week's James Nesbitt rumours as "a total fabrication, made up, a fantasy. Just a guy sitting at a desk and just inventing stuff. I wasn't going to say anything, but I'm getting embarrassed for the deeply wonderful Jimmy Nesbitt."
Still, the Kingsley story isn't completely ridiculous. It feels like every other week there's another massive casting announcement. OK, so Julie Gardner ruled out whispers of Dennis Hopper the other week, but we did get Derek Jacobi, John Simm and, on a different but no less exciting level, Kylie Minogue. But could the man who won an Oscar playing Gandhi really be about to play one of Doctor Who's most ridiculous villains?
Davros first appeared in 1975 adventure Genesis Of The Daleks - often voted the best-ever story by fans, it saw the Fourth Doctor sent back to Dalek planet Skaro to avert scientist Davros' genetic manipulation on the Kaled race, and thus avert their creation, forcing the Doctor to question whether it amounted to genocide. It was great, but then returned for every single Dalek story thereafter, reducing him to a pantomime villain, totally lacking in menace. So as far as that goes, it makes perfect sense. After three years, we're getting Dalek fatigue, with this year's Manhattan caper being roundly the weakest of the season. If they must come back, and it seems that they must, raising the stakes with Davros could be a good idea.
And if they do, they'll need a big-name star (even if he does get hidden behind a mountain of prosthetics). And big-name stars seems willing. Why? Actors of the highest calibre always report back with excitement after visiting the Cardiff production base. The show has been a central part of the British public consciousness for almost 50 years, with a wide reach. Now it's back and in the unique position of being Britain's highest-rating non-soap drama, with near-blanket critical adoration. As Maureen Lipman said after guesting last year: "This will earn my entire year's worth of street-cred."
Jacobi, meanwhile, told Doctor Who Magazine last month: "I've been around for a long time, so there are few ambitions left, but I still do have them, one of which was Doctor Who ... and I'm hoping that The Master will get tired of being young, and want to come back as an old man again, so he'll morph back into being me!"
Even if the Kingsley rumour is guff, the influx of gigantic-name thesps seems far from over.
