Andrew Sachs thought he was a "failure" because he didn’t secure the lead role in ‘Doctor Who’.
The late ‘Fawlty Towers’ star – who passed away on November 23 aged 86 after a secret four-year battle with dementia – was reportedly in the running to play the famous Time Lord before the part was given to Sylvester McCoy, who took on the seventh incarnation of the regenerating hero from 1987 to 1989.
According to Andrew’s page on database website IMDb.com, the star would "love to have done it", and has branded his missed opportunity as a "sad tale of failure".
A quote on the page read: "I was up to take over as Doctor Who but didn’t get the part. Sylvester McCoy played it, but at that time they put my name forward for it. Shame, I’d love to have done it.
"You can be very self-indulgent and go mad and do all the wonderful things, but the script or the director should pull you back and say, ‘Come on, stop fooling about, just stop acting, just do it, be in the spirit of the script’. I hope I would have done that, but I never got the chance. One of my sad tales of failure in life."
Although Andrew didn’t land the lead in the popular BBC sci-fi show, he did take on the role of antagonist Skagra in the 2003 six-episode miniseries ‘Doctor Who: Shada’.
However, it was his role as Manuel in the comedy ‘Fawlty Towers’ alongside John Cleese that made him a household name, and the 77-year-old actor quickly took to Twitter to share his condolences at the news of his passing.
He wrote: "Just heard about Andy Sachs. Very sad…. I knew he was having problems with his memory as his wife Melody told me a couple of years ago…
"…and I heard very recently that he had been admitted to Denham Hall, but I had no idea that his life was in danger. A very sweet gentle…
"… and kind man and a truly great farceur. I first saw him in Habeas Corpus on stage in 1973. I could not have found a better Manuel. Inspired (sic)"
Andrew Sachs ‘failed’ to secure Doctor Who role
