Hayley Atwell has contributed to the long-running debate over whether the Doctor in Doctor Who should be a woman by indicating that she would be keen to play the timelord.
In a Twitter Q&A session the actor, who currently appears as Peggy Carter in the Marvel series Agent Carter as well the Captain America films and Avengers: Age of Ultron, was asked by a fan whether she would like to appear in the BBC sci-fi series. “I’d like to BE Doctor Who,” Atwell replied.
@ohmyjlc I'd like to BE Doctor Who
— Hayley Atwell (@HayleyAtwell) August 14, 2015
Atwell’s comments come at the same time as those of Doctor Who writer and comedian AL Kennedy, who stated that the Doctor should never be a woman. Instead, Kennedy called for the creation of characters who were “iconic and marvellous for women”.
Speaking at the Edinburgh international book festival, Kennedy said: “As a heterosexual woman, I have no interest in a female Doctor. He’s kind of got a guy vibe, the Doctor. A hopeless, undomestic, dozy, dreamy guy-type of eccentricity. It’s not a girl-type of eccentricity. I’d be surprised if he changed gender.”
The issue of the Doctor’s gender has been a perennial topic for discussion in recent years. In the eight series of Doctor Who’s reboot, the Doctor’s longstanding nemesis the Master returned in a female incarnation, Missy, played by Michelle Gomez.
Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has suggested that a future regeneration of the Doctor could also be a woman. “There easily could be a female Doctor,” Moffat told SFX magazine last year. “I think the next time might be a female Doctor. I don’t see why not. I think it’s good to do that.”
