Brian Blessed has revealed he turned down the role of ‘Doctor Who’.
The British actor was approached to take on the iconic role in the mid-60s when First Doctor William Hartnell was about to be replaced in the TARDIS.
However, he declined due to other work commitments meaning the BBC went on to cast Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor.
In an interview with Radio Times magazine, Blessed revealed: "After I was in ‘Z Cars’, the head of BBC serials took me aside and said, ‘We’re thinking of having a young Doctor Who and we’d like to cast you’. But it clashed with other things."
When asked what his decision would be now if he was asked to star as the lead in the sci-fi series, he replied: "I’d jump at it!"
Blessed – beloved for his performance in cult sci-fi film ‘Flash Gordon’ – has some interesting ideas as to who should be cast as the Doctor when Peter Capaldi, who is about to debut in the role in a couple of weeks, decides to exit the TARDIS.
He said: "I think they need to re-examine his surname – ‘Who’ is very oriental. It’s about time they had an Asian actor as the Doctor and a female one."
Blessed, now 77, did eventually appear in a ‘Doctor Who’ adventure in 1986 playing King Yrcanos in the story ‘Mindwarp’ – part of the series-long narrative ‘The Trial of a Time Lord’ – opposite Sixth Doctor Colin Baker.
Brian Blessed turned down Doctor Who role
