BOOKIES have been forced to suspend betting on Kris Marshall becoming the new Doctor Who after bets on the Death in Paradise star taking over the role dramatically surged.
The change in direction comes after fans initially speculated that 43-year-old Kris would take over the role after leaving the BBC Caribbean detective series in order to spend more time in the UK with his family.
Ladbrokes representative Alex Donohue has revealed they’ve now had to shut up shop because of the drastic increase in numbers of people backing the star.
He said: “A surge of punters have backed Marshall so we’ve had no choices but to close the book.
They added: “If he does get the gig, the bookies will be exterminated first.”
Kris’s decision to leave the Death in Paradise co-incided with current Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi announcing he had quit after three years in the role – with both announcements coming just two days apart.
Fans were quick to notice the correlation and started speculating he had been offered the part.
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Taking to Twitter, one wrote: “Kris Marshall is definitely gonna be the next doctor who”, while another added: “Anyone else think that Kris Marshall would be pretty good as the next Doctor?”.
A third agreed, writing: “Kris Marshall is leaving death in paradise – he MUST be the next doctor who“.
However, until the past few days, it was widely speculated that the character of Doctor Who – who has always been played by a white male – may go to either a woman or a person of colour for the first time.
Olivia Colman, who is currently starring in Broadchurch, was hotly tipped by her co-star and former Doctor Who David Tennent as someone who would be a “magnificent choice” for the role.
He told BBC’s The World at One: “If you have the right people telling the right stories then it’s absolutely a possibility.”
Perhaps boosting Olivia’s chances, Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall is set to take over from Steven Moffat as Doctor Who’s executive producer.
Other potential candidates that have been mentioned include Richard Ayoade – despite him signing up to the Channel 4 reboot of the Crystal Maze – Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s Anthony Head, and actress Tilda Swinton.
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