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Doctor Who Was almost a Woman
Quote:
Sydney Newman, who devised the long-running science-fiction show when he was head of BBC drama in the 1960s, was asked to help after the show suffered a slump in ratings in the 1980s and was taken off air temporarily.
He told Michael Grade, then the controller of BBC One, that the ailing series could only be saved by regenerating the Time Lord into a Time Lady.
Mr Newman criticised the direction the show had taken, but insisted that it could be revived by turning the lead character into a heroine.
Had the advice been accepted, actresses who could have been considered for the role include Frances de la Tour, Joanna Lumley and Dawn French.
Instead, the BBC played safe and replaced the incumbent Doctor, Colin Baker, with another male actor – Sylvester McCoy, a little-known children's entertainer.
The show's decline continued until 1989 when it was pulled from the schedules, not to be revived for another 16 years.
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I wonder if they'd chosen to go with a female Dr Who, if the series would have survived?
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The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.
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