There has been a lot of speculation on the interwebs that the new Doctor might be – gasp! – a woman. And there has been a lot of speculation about just who it might be. But I really don’t think so. People keep saying “It’s never been a woman before! Must happen soon!” It’s true that it has never been a woman before, but it’s never been a Dalek before either, and I’m not holding my breath for that.
I’ve been watching Dr Who since it was first broadcast. I remember the revelation of the first regeneration. I remember when the Time Lords chose the third Doctor’s form for him so we discovered it wasn’t predetermined. I’ve seen the Master return in many forms (though I don’t think we ever saw him regenerate). I saw Romana choose her form. But in all those regenerations (eleven by the Doctor, one by Romana, eight-ish by the Master), not one has involved a change of gender.
Twenty same-gender regenerations in a row. So I really don’t think it’s going to happen. If it’s random, we’ve just seen a 2 to the power of 20 lucky streak which is roughly…
Oooh. Roughly a million to one.
You don’t think…
“Hello? Ladbrokes? I’d like to place a bet. What odds are you offering on Joanna Lumley as the next Doctor? No, I don’t have inside inform- Why? What have you heard?”
