Former Doctor Who star Peter Davison has received backlash over his comments saying that the Time Lord should always be a man.
The actor, who played the Fifth Doctor between 1981 – 1984 said “‘I’ll probably get into trouble for saying this but I think it sort of has to be a man.”
“To have a female would be like having a female James Bond. It would be a rather odd thing.”
His comments come just before the 50th anniversary episode airs on November 23rd.
“If you suddenly make the Doctor a woman, you effectively say, “Well, let’s give him a sex change” and I don’t think that works.
“I’m very happy for there to be a female Time Lord. I think my daughter is one and she is shooting around the universe now.”
Davison as The Doctor
Actor Tom Baker, who played the Doctor Who for eight years before Davison, however disagreed and said: “It would be quite nice to have a woman.”
Kate Kinninmont, chief executive of Women in Film and TV, said: “Peter Davison was a brilliant Doctor Who, but I think his time travel gearstick has got horribly stuck in reverse.”
Davison’s daughter, actress Georgia played a female Time Lord on the programme in 2008 and is married to the former Doctor Who star and Tenth Doctor, David Tennant.
The Doctor Who 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor, will be shown on BBC One on November 23rd.
Main image via Watchplayread
