Danny Dyer has told how he’d love to star in Doctor Who - while admitting he’d play the Time Lord as “a bit mental”. The actor says that while he’s never been asked to try out for the TARDIS role, he certainly wouldn’t rule it out if he was.
“It’s such an iconic thing to do,” he explained. “It’s almost – not on the same level – like James Bond. It’s a character that’s loved by so many. Again, it gives you an opportunity with Doctor Who, because of the nature of the work, to bring something left-field, something a bit mental, a bit stylised, which I love. I love the idea of it.”
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Speaking ahead of the return of Sky’s Mr Bigstuff this week, for which he earned a Bafta for best comedy performance earlier this year, Danny said no one would be surprised with how he’d play the Doctor, if he was ever given the chance.
“Well, he would be an incredibly working-class Dr Who,” he laughed. “Yeah, maybe a bit alpha. What I do, really. You’ve hired me for a reason - I don’t think you’d want me to come in and play Doctor Who, you know, really posh.”
He said maybe his down-to-earth, no frills approach is what the series has been missing. “I don’t think we’ve ever had a working-class Doctor Who, have we? Well, Jodie Whittaker, she brought a bit of that to it,” he said, confessing that he doesn’t know much about the complicated history of the 62-year-old sci fi series.
“I know it’s hard work, and some of the dialogue he’s got, he’s got big monologues, talking about s*** you don’t understand.”
Other recent Doctors have included outgoing Sex Education actor Ncuti Gatwa, fellow Scot Peter Capaldi and English actor Matt Smith, who went on to play Prince Phillip in The Crown.
The bookies are forever slashing Danny’s odds when the runners and riders for who will next steer the TARDIS are being considered. “I’ll be honest, no one’s ever approached me about it. But I see things now and again, my odds have been slashed to this, that and the other - it’s definitely something I would consider."
In Mr Bigstuff, the main cast will this time be joined by a raft of guest stars including two from EastEnders. One is Linda Henry, who played Queen Vic barmaid Shirley Carter for 16 years until leaving in 2022. Danny’s character Mick thought Shirley was his sister until discovering she was actually his mum in 2014.
The second series of Mr Bigstuff will also feature Shaun Williamson, who played Albert Square’s Barry Evans, plus actress Rula Lenska.
In the six-part comedy, Danny - who also stars in Disney's returning series Rivals - plays estranged elder brother Lee alongside Ryan Samson - who also writes the show - as his younger sibling Glen. The action picks up two weeks after the last one ended, with the shock news that the brothers’ dad is not actually dead after all.
- Mr Bigstuff, Sky and Now, Thursday 24 July
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