David Harewood: ‘Next Doctor Who needs to be different’

David Harewood wants the next Doctor Who to be “a black person or a woman”.
The Homeland actor is one of the names in the running to take over from Peter Capaldi when he leaves the TV series at the end of the current series.
And while David said “it’s nice to be in the running”, he also told BBC News he thinks the new Time Lord needs to be drastically different from its previous incarnations.
“It needs to do something different, so I think it’s either going to be a black person or a woman,” he told the outlet. “It would just bring a different flavour to it.”
David has starred in the programme before, playing Joshua Naismith in the double episode The End of Time, in 2009 to 2010, so he knows a bit about what makes a good Doctor.
Another name being suggested for the part is Tilda Swinton, with David agreeing the Doctor Strange actress would be a good replacement for Capaldi.
“She’s extraordinary anyway so I think she’d be great”, he mused. “It would be a very different Doctor and maybe that’s what it needs.”
Tilda is currently bookmakers’ favourite to take on the role. Other names in the mix include Ben Whishaw, James Norton and The Night Manager star Olivia Colman.
Former doctor David Tennant, who played the part from 2005 to 2010, previously backed Olivia as the new Doctor, telling BBC radio show The World at One, he said, “Olivia would clearly be a magnificent choice. If you have the right people telling the right stories then it’s absolutely a possibility.”
Peter, 58, will last be seen as the Time Lord at Christmas (17), and told Jo Whiley of his decision to leave the programme: “I feel it’s time to move on. I feel sad, I love Doctor Who, it is a fantastic programme to work on.
“I can’t praise the people I work with more highly, but I have always been someone that did a lot of different things.”