Moffat Says Doctor Who Is “Hedging Bets” On Whether Billie Piper Is The Next Doctor

Steven Moffat believes Doctor Who is keeping its options open on the identity of the Sixteenth Doctor, saying producers have “hedged their bets” with the Billie Piper reveal.

Asked by RadioTimes whether he thinks Piper is set to play the Doctor, the former showrunner and writer said, “I genuinely do not have any insider information, but they have hedged their bets. They have not said [she is the Doctor] so I do not know. I do not even know if they know.”

Piper’s on screen appearance after Ncuti Gatwa’s regeneration has fuelled feverish speculation across the fandom, but there has still been no official confirmation that she is playing the Sixteenth Doctor.

Pressed on what he looks for in a Doctor, and what qualities the Sixteenth should have, whether that turns out to be Piper or someone else, Moffat offered a familiar checklist of contradictions. “Attractive, but odd. There is something utterly odd, a sort of benevolent, kindly, slightly incompetent impersonation of a human being. The Doctor is never quite right.”

“But also there has got to be an edge, slightly dangerous, the most dangerous [person] in the universe, all of those things. It is a tall order.”

He added that the Doctor is forever trying to look cool, yet never quite nails it. “He is really trying, or she is really trying. [They are] not quite there. ‘I am really cool because I got a bow tie’. ‘I have got a nice suit.’ ‘I put my trainers on.’ There is just something off kilter about them.”

“Above all, it is someone that little kids would want to run up and take that [person’s] hand and feel absolutely safe. That is what the Doctor is about. Somewhere between Indiana Jones and Willy Wonka.”

For now, the Billie Piper twist remains exactly that, a tease, and Moffat’s verdict is clear, the show has not nailed its colours to the mast just yet.