Brian Blessed has revealed that he once turned down the chance to take the lead role in ‘Doctor Who’ because he was too busy with other projects.
The 77-year-old actor was offered the part when he was younger and decided to decline, however, if the time behind the Sci-Fi drama change their mind, he’d happily take the role now.
Brian Blessed
Speaking to Radio Times, he states he was first approached to star in the show in the mid 1960s.
"After I was in ‘Z Cars’, the head of BBC serials took me aside and said, 'We're thinking of having a young Doctor Who and we'd like to cast you',” he explains. “But it clashed with other things.”
However now, Brian’s thoughts on the matter have changed considerably, and when asked what he’d do if the same offer was made today, Brian replied: "I'd jump at it."
Brian later appeared in ‘Doctor Who’ in 1986, playing King Yrcanos in a story titled ‘Midwarp’, when Colin Baker starred in the lead role.
The ‘Z Cars’ star also some ideas for the next Doctor and thinks it would be a good idea if producers mixed things up a bit.
“It's about time they had an Asian actor as the Doctor,” he added. “And a female one."
The next series of ‘Doctor Who’, featuring Peter Capaldi as the Time Lord begins on BBC1 on 23 August.
While bosses are remaining tight-lipped on the challenges the new Doctor will face, we have had a sneak peek at some of this series’ villains and it’s been confirmed that Madame Vastra will also return.