Neil Gaiman wants Sue Perkins as Peter Capaldi's Doctor Who replacement

It was announced last month that Peter Capaldi would be stepping down from the role, and there has been much speculation over whether the next Doctor will be a woman.

“Needless to say I’d love to see a woman Doctor,” the writer said on Radio 5Live, suggesting Bake Off's Sue Perkins, and then Gillian Anderson and Helen Mirren.

Gillian Anderson, who plays fierce detective Stella Gibson in The Fall, is due to appear in the adaptation of Gaiman’s bestselling novel American Gods, and he said: "I don't think there's anything Gillian can't do".

But, he added, "If we have to go for an older Doctor it would be Helen Mirren".

Gaiman also admitted he had “no idea” whether new Doctor Who boss Chris Chibnall would cast a woman. Chibnall recently told The Telegraph that the Doctor will be treated like any other part. “We’ll cast the role in the traditional way: write the script, then go and find the best person for that part in that script.

"You couldn’t go out and cast an abstract idea. The creative possibilities are endless, but I have a very clear sense of what we’re going to do, without even knowing who’s going to play the part.”

Well, let’s hope the script is bursting with puns and is written in a dalek Sue Perkins can understand.