Bradley Walsh was going to turn down the role of Doctor Who’s companion.
The 58-year-old presenter-and-actor has revealed he nearly snubbed showrunner and pal Chris Chibnall’s offer to be the first female Time Lord’s (Jodie Whittaker) sidekick in the new series of the popular sci-fi show, because he wouldn’t tell him who the new Doctor was.
However, the former ‘Coronation Street’ star took a "leap of faith" and signed up after all.
Bradley recalled to The Sun newspaper’s TV column: "I was with Chris having lunch last year and he said: ‘Brad, I want you to do a job.’
"I said: ‘Sure, what?’ He said: ‘I can’t tell. It’s very, very secret. But you are the man for the job. It’s in Cardiff and will be a nine-month shoot.’
"I had another meeting and he said: ‘It is ‘Doctor Who’ — not for the Doctor, though. We are going to change it around.’ I said: ‘Who is going to be the Doctor?’ He said: ‘We can’t tell.’
"So I said: ‘I can’t accept.’
"He said: ‘But we want you. It will be an unbelievable journey. It will be ground-breaking. We are going to go for it. The BBC have trusted us.’ So I’m in. A leap of faith."
The new series is set to be aired on Sundays instead of Saturdays and the first episode is titled ‘The Woman Who Fell To Earth’.
Chris said: "New Doctor, new home! Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor is about to burst into Sunday nights – and make the end of the weekend so much more exciting.
"Get everybody’s homework done, sort out your Monday clothes, then grab some special Sunday night popcorn, and settle down with all of the family for Sunday night adventures across space and time.
"Also, move the sofa away from the wall so parents can hide behind it during the scary bits. The Thirteenth Doctor is falling from the sky and it’s going to be a blast."
‘Doctor Who’ will kick off on Sunday, October 7 on BBC One.
Bradley Walsh nearly snubbed Doctor Who role
