Former ‘Doctor Who’ Star Thought He Killed The Franchise

ByShawn Lealos
The Tardis in Doctor Who

There have been 15 different actors who have played the good Doctor in Doctor Who. The most recent was Jodie Whittaker, the first woman to take on the role. However, one of the actors felt that their turn as the Doctor was enough to destroy the entire franchise.

That actor is Paul McGann, The 8th Doctor, and he believes that he is the one name that no one would ever mention again.

Paul McGann felt he destroyed Doctor Who

Paul McGann was one of the shortest-lived leads in the franchise’s history. He was The 8th Doctor and arrived seven years after the show was canceled. After Sylvester McCoy’s stint as The 7th Doctor, BBC canceled the series until 1996. That was when Paul McGann joined on for Doctor Who: The Movie.

Paul McGann in Doctor Who

However, there was one problem. The movie received terrible ratings when it aired on TV in the United States. While the movie won the 1996 Saturn Award for Best Television Presentation, the network felt it wasn’t yet ready to return. McGann felt he officially killed the franchise.

In an interview with RadioTimes, McGann said, “I remember thinking Doctor Who is now finished and I’m probably partly responsible for it.” He went on to say that he never expected to ever get an invite back to the show and felt that he and Peter Cushing, who appeared in two movies in the 1960s, were never spoken of in franchise lore.

Furthermore, McGann got to return for the 50th-anniversary celebration and was thankful for that. “I think maybe that break needed to happen, in order for the right custodians to find it, and bring it back to its former glory with their passion,” the actor said of showrunner Russell T Davies, who revived the series in 2005.

There is a new Doctor coming

Just as Jodie Whittaker was the first female lead in franchise history. The franchise will have another first this upcoming season. Ncuti Gatwa will debut as the next Doctor, the first Black man to serve in the role. He will be the fifteenth (the numbering discrepancy is because David Tennant will take a second turn before Gatwa joins on).

“I am so excited, but obviously it’s daunting,” Gatwa said about his casting. “With every new Doctor comes a new beginning for the show. I would take my TARDIS to Africa. I would take my TARDIS to Nigeria, and I would love for the Doctor to meet the Orisha, which were a set of gods in Nigerian mythology. And I think that he would have a lovely old time there.”

For fans unaware, in the United States, Doctor Who now airs on Disney+.

Did you ever see Doctor Who: The Movie? What were your thoughts on Paul McGann as the main character? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Shawn Lealos
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