Doctor Who may be heading for a Marvel-style makeover with Hugh Grant piloting the TARDIS, says a TV insider.
Showrunner Russell T Davies is taking back control of the sci-fi series in time for its 60th anniversary in 2023.
The insider said Davies is keen for the Four Weddings and a Funeral star, 61, to “bring a fresh feel” to the role.
They added: “He offers many attributes – great actor, British, award-winning, Hollywood A-lister and excellent at comedy. Conversations are in progress.”
Davies is also said to want to expand the Doctor’s horizons.
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The insider said: “The vision is that the show can be a Marvel-like product, building franchises around the Doctor and other key characters in his many lives.”
Davies is said to be backed by BBC Worldwide commercial and Sony Pictures TV, which bought a majority stake in Wolf Studios, which makes the show.
The source added: “With the utmost respect to the BBC, in the past attempts like Torchwood were made on a very limited budget in locations around Wales. Now the world is Russell’s oyster.”
Davies was responsible for the Doctor’s revival in 2005, after 16 years off-air, and for turning the show into a global phenomenon.
When he left in 2009, Steven Moffat took over and most recently Chris Chibnall. But ratings have gone from bad to worse.
This year Jodie Whittaker’s last shows, as the 13th Time Lord, will air before her and Chris depart.
Grant was BAFTA nominated for playing politician Jeremy Thorpe in Davies’ mini-series A Very English Scandal in 2018.
The star played a version of the 12th Doctor in a 1999 Comic Relief special written by Moffat.
And five years later, Davies offered him the lead role. In 2007 Hugh said he regretted not accepting.
He admitted: “It’s only when you see it on screen that you think, ‘Damn, that was good, why did I say no?”
