Doctor Who: Will Olly Alexander be 14th Doctor? Fans convinced as Russell T Davies returns as showrunner

Could Olly Alexander be the one to replace Jodie Whittaker on Doctor Who? (Picture: BBC)

Doctor Who fans have been left reeling by the news that Russell T Davies is returning as showrunner on the BBC series, leading to heavy speculation that the rumours that Olly Alexander has been cast as the 14th Doctor could be true.

For months, there has been widespread talk that Years and Years singer Olly may succeed Jodie Whittaker as the time-travelling Doctor.

Despite Olly’s manager shooting down the rumours this summer, they have persisted, and may have even strengthened now that it has been confirmed Russell is coming back to helm the show 12 years after his exit in 2009.

Earlier this year, Russell received critical acclaim for his Channel 4 TV series It’s A Sin, which starred Olly as Ritchie Tozer, a young man whose friendship group is devastatingly impacted by the Aids crisis in London in the 1980s.

Given Russell and Olly’s close work bond, and the fact that Russell will be taking charge of Doctor Who once more in 2023, it may not seem like too far a stretch to suspect that Olly could be the next actor to take up the mantle.

Several fans seem to think that this will be the case, with one tweeting in response to the news of Russell’s return: ‘Maybe those Olly Alexander rumours might just be true!!’

Russell led the revival of Doctor Who in 2005 (Picture: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Some believe Olly’s It’s A Sin co-star Lydia West could be the next Doctor (Picture: Ross Ferguson/Channel 4)

‘Put your mortgage money on Olly Alexander then…’ someone else said, while another person remarked: ‘So Olly Alexander is pretty much a certainty now right?’

Another fan said that in their opinion, this news ‘basically confirms Olly Alexander as the next Doctor Who’.

‘WOW! Absolutely MASSIVE news. Russell T. Davies back as #DoctorWho showrunner! Very pleased about this. Olly Alexander to follow him into the TARDIS?’ one fan wrote excitedly.

Several people suggested that Lydia West, who played Jill in It’s A Sin, could also be a contender for the part.

‘The next doctor’s gonna be Lydia West, isn’t it?’ one Twitter user asked, while another said: ‘Lydia West must be the favourite for the Fourteenth Doctor now.’

When the announcement was made of Russell’s Doctor Who comeback, he said that he was ‘beyond excited to be back on my favourite show’.

He added: ‘But we’re time-travelling too fast, there’s a whole series of Jodie Whittaker’s brilliant Doctor for me to enjoy, with my friend and hero Chris Chibnall at the helm – I’m still a viewer for now.’

More: BBC

Current showrunner Chris Chibnall, who is departing alongside Jodie, said in a statement: ‘It’s monumentally exciting and fitting that Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary will see one of Britain’s screenwriting diamonds return home.

‘Russell built the baton that is about to be handed back to him – Doctor Who, the BBC, the screen industry in Wales, and let’s be honest everyone in the whole world, have so many reasons to be Very Excited Indeed about what lies ahead.’

Doctor Who series 13 is expected to air on BBC One this autumn.

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