History WhatCouldHaveBeen / DoctorWho

** [[Theatre/KingLear Alan Webb]], [[Literature/Fahrenheit451 Cyril Cusack]], and [[Literature/DeathInVenice Leslie French]] were approached for the role of the First Doctor as well before the casting of Hartnell. French would later go on to play Lady Peinforte's mathematician in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E3SilverNemesis “Silver Nemesis”]].
* '''Creator/BrianBlessed''', [[Radio/TheGoonShow Valentine Dyall]], [[Film/WhereEaglesDare Michael Hordern]], [[Series/{{Maigret}} Rupert Davies]], [[Film/TheBloodOnSatansClaw Patrick Wymark]], and [[Theatre/FiniansRainbow Tommy Steele]] were approached for the part of the [[Characters/DoctorWhoSecondDoctor Second Doctor]] before the casting of Creator/PatrickTroughton. However, none of them wished to commit to a long-running series. Blessed would eventually go on to portray [[LargeHam King Yrcanos]] in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E2Mindwarp "Mindwarp"]], while Dyall would play the Black Guardian in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E6TheArmageddonFactor "The Armageddon Factor"]].

** Creator/JimDale, Creator/MichaelBentine, [[Series/{{Porridge}} Fulton Mackay]], and Creator/BernardCribbins were also considered for the role of the Fourth Doctor before the casting of Baker. Mackay and Cribbins previously played Dr. Quinn and [[{{Expy}} Tom]] in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E2DoctorWhoAndTheSilurians “Doctor Who and the Silurians”]] and ''Film/DaleksInvasionEarth2150AD'' respectively. Cribbins would go on to portray Wilfred Mott in the modern series.

** [[Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1978 Ken Campbell]], Creator/TonyRobinson, [[Film/CarryOnBehind Hugh Futcher]], [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade Alexei Sayle]], [[Series/FawltyTowers Andrew Sachs]], and [[Series/{{Lovejoy}} Chris Jury]] also auditioned for the role of the Seventh Doctor before the casting of [=McCoy=]. Futcher and Sayle previously played Hickman and the DJ in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E3TheSeaDevils "The Sea Devils"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E6RevelationOfTheDaleks "Revelation of the Daleks"]] respectively. Sachs would eventually voice an older version of [[spoiler: Adric]] in [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho110TheBoyThatTimeForgot "The Boy That Time Forgot"]], while Jury would go on to portray Deadbeat in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E4TheGreatestShowintheGalaxy "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy"]]
** A female Doctor was on the wishlist of many fans for decades before Creator/JodieWhittaker was announced as the [[Characters/DoctorWhoThirteenthDoctor Thirteenth Doctor]], and Creator/SydneyNewman would have had one ready to go in 1987 if he had returned as showrunner - following a season where the Doctor regenerated back into Creator/PatrickTroughton - recommending [[Film/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Frances De La Tour]], Creator/DawnFrench, and Creator/JoannaLumley for the Seventh Doctor. Lumley would later appear in the non-canonical [[Recap/DoctorWhoTheCurseOfFatalDeath "The Curse of Fatal Death"]] as [[HilariousInHindsight the Thirteenth Doctor]].

** Creator/LiamCunningham, Creator/MichaelCrawford, Creator/BillyConnolly, Creator/EricIdle, Creator/MichaelPalin, and Creator/JonathanPryce were also considered for the role of the Eighth Doctor. Cunningham would later go on to play Captain Zhukov in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E8ColdWar “Cold War”]], while Pryce would portray a non-canonical version of the [[Characters/DoctorWhoMasters Master]] in [[Recap/DoctorWhoTheCurseOfFatalDeath "The Curse of Fatal Death"]].
** Creator/AnthonyHead, Creator/TimMcInnerny, Creator/RobertLindsay, Creator/NathanielParker, [[Series/{{Conquest}} Peter Woodward]], Creator/TonySlattery, [[Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway John Sessions]], and [[Series/TheHangingGale Mark McGann]] screen-tested for the part of the Eighth Doctor as well before the casting of [=McGann=]. Head would go on to play Mr. Finch in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion "School Reunion"]], while [=McInnerny=] would portray Halpen in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E3PlanetOfTheOod "Planet of the Ood"]].

** Creator/BillNighy, Creator/ShaneRichie, and Creator/AlanCumming were also offered the role of the Ninth Doctor. However, Nighy turned down the offer as he considered the part to be "too much baggage", Richie declined due to filming commitments to ''Series/{{Eastenders}}'', and Cumming backed out after finding out it would take eight months in Cardiff to film it. Nighy would eventually go on to play Dr. Black in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E10VincentAndTheDoctor "Vincent and the Doctor"]], while Cumming would appear as [[UsefulNotes/JamesTheFirst King James VI/I]] in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS37E8TheWitchfinders "The Witchfinders"]].
** [[Series/JonathanCreek Alan Davies]], Creator/EddieIzzard, Creator/MartinClunes, Creator/RichardEGrant, Creator/AnthonyHead, and Creator/DavidSuchet were considered for the part of the Ninth Doctor as well before the casting of Eccleston. Clunes and Grant previously portrayed Lon and a non-canonical version of the Doctor in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS20E2Snakedance "Snakedance"]] and [[WebAnimation/ScreamOfTheShalka "Scream of the Shalka"]] respectively. Grant, Head, and Suchet would go on to play Dr. Simeon, Mr. Finch, and the Landlord in [[Recap/DoctorWho2012CSTheSnowmen "The Snowmen"]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion "School Reunion"]], and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E4KnockKnock “Knock Knock”]] respectively.
* Creator/ChrisBarrie, Creator/EddieIzzard, and Creator/DavidWalliams were considered for the role of the [[Characters/DoctorWhoTenthDoctor Tenth Doctor]] before Creator/DavidTennant was cast. Walliams would go on to portray Gibbis in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E11TheGodComplex "The God Complex"]].

** Creator/PatersonJoseph, Creator/MathewHorne, and Creator/SeanPertwee screen-tested for the Eleventh Doctor as well before the casting of Smith. Joseph previously played Rodrick in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E12BadWolf "Bad Wolf"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E13ThePartingOfTheWays "The Parting of the Ways"]].

** [[Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1978 Ken Campbell]], Creator/TonyRobinson, [[Film/CarryOnBehind Hugh Futcher]], [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade Alexei Sayle]], [[Series/FawltyTowers Andrew Sachs]], and [[Series/{{Lovejoy}} Chris Jury]] also auditioned for the role of the Seventh Doctor before the casting of [=McCoy=]. Futcher and Sayle previously played Hickman and the DJ in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E3TheSeaDevils "The Sea Devils"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E6RevelationOfTheDaleks "Revelation of the Daleks"]] respectively. Sachs would eventually voice an older version of [[spoiler: Adric]] for [[AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho Big Finish]] in [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho110TheBoyThatTimeForgot "The Boy That Time Forgot"]], while Jury would go on to portray Deadbeat in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E4TheGreatestShowintheGalaxy "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy"]]

** [[Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1978 Ken Campbell]], Creator/TonyRobinson, [[Film/CarryOnBehind Hugh Futcher]], [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade Alexei Sayle]], [[Series/FawltyTowers Andrew Sachs]], and [[Series/{{Lovejoy}} Chris Jury]] also auditioned for the role of the Seventh Doctor before the casting of [=McCoy=]. Futcher and Sayle previously played Hickman and the DJ in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E3TheSeaDevils "The Sea Devils"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E6RevelationOfTheDaleks "Revelation of the Daleks"]] respectively. Sachs would eventually voice an older version of Adric for [[AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho Big Finish]] in [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho110TheBoyThatTimeForgot "The Boy That Time Forgot"]], while Jury would go on to portray Deadbeat in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E4TheGreatestShowintheGalaxy "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy"]]

** [[Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1978 Ken Campbell]], Creator/TonyRobinson, [[Film/CarryOnBehind Hugh Futcher]], [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade Alexei Sayle]], [[Series/FawltyTowers Andrew Sachs], and [[Series/{{Lovejoy}} Chris Jury]] also auditioned for the role of the Seventh Doctor before the casting of [=McCoy=]. Futcher and Sayle previously played Hickman and the DJ in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E3TheSeaDevils "The Sea Devils"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E6RevelationOfTheDaleks "Revelation of the Daleks"]] respectively. Sachs would eventually voice an older version of Adric for [[AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho Big Finish] in [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho110TheBoyThatTimeForgot "The Boy That Time Forgot"]], while Jury would go on to portray Deadbeat in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E4TheGreatestShowintheGalaxy "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy"]]

** [[Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1978 Ken Campbell]], Creator/TonyRobinson, [[Film/CarryOnBehind Hugh Futcher]], [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade Alexei Sayle]], [[Series/FawltyTowers Andrew Sachs], and [[Series/{{Lovejoy}} Chris Jury]] also auditioned for the role of the Seventh Doctor before the casting of [=McCoy=]. Futcher and Sayle previously played Hickman and the DJ in [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/DoctorWhoS9E3TheSeaDevils "The Sea Devils"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E6RevelationOfTheDaleks "Revelation of the Daleks"]] respectively. Sachs would eventually voice an older version of Adric for [[AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho Big Finish] in [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho110TheBoyThatTimeForgot "The Boy That Time Forgot"]], while Jury would go on to portray Deadbeat in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E4TheGreatestShowintheGalaxy "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy"]]

** [[Series/{{Lovejoy}} Chris Jury]], [[Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1978 Ken Campbell]], [[Film/CarryOnBehind Hugh Futcher]], Creator/TonyRobinson, [[Series/FawltyTowers Andrew Sachs]], and [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade Alexei Sayle]] auditioned for the role of the Seventh Doctor before the casting of [=McCoy=]. Sayle previously played the DJ in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E6RevelationOfTheDaleks "Revelation of the Daleks"]]. Jury would eventually go on to portray Deadbeat in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E4TheGreatestShowintheGalaxy "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy"]].
** A female Doctor was on the wishlist of many fans for decades before Creator/JodieWhittaker was announced as the [[Characters/DoctorWhoThirteenthDoctor Thirteenth Doctor]], and Creator/SydneyNewman would have had one ready to go in 1987 if he had returned as showrunner (following a season where the Doctor regenerated back into Creator/PatrickTroughton), recommending [[Film/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Frances De La Tour]], Creator/DawnFrench, and Creator/JoannaLumley for the Seventh Doctor. Lumley would later appear in the non-canonical [[Recap/DoctorWhoTheCurseOfFatalDeath "The Curse of Fatal Death"]] as [[HilariousInHindsight the Thirteenth Doctor]].

** [[Series/JonathanCreek Alan Davies]], Creator/EddieIzzard, Creator/MartinClunes, Creator/RichardEGrant, Creator/AnthonyHead, and Creator/DavidSuchet were considered for the part of the Ninth Doctor as well before the casting of Eccleston. Clunes and Grant previously portrayed Lon and a non-canonical version of the Doctor in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS20E2Snakedance "Snakedance"]] and [[WebAnimation/ScreamOfTheShalka "Scream of the Shalka"]]. Grant, Head, and Suchet would go on to play Dr. Simeon, Mr. Finch, and the Landlord in [[Recap/DoctorWho2012CSTheSnowmen "The Snowmen"]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion "School Reunion"]], and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E4KnockKnock “Knock Knock”]] respectively.

* Creator/RafeSpall was offered the role, but was taken out of consideration after disregarding a request to keep his audition a secret and telling everyone he knew.

** [[Series/JonathanCreek Alan Davies]], Creator/EddieIzzard, Creator/MartinClunes, Creator/RichardEGrant, Creator/AnthonyHead, and Creator/DavidSuchet were considered for the part of the Ninth Doctor as well before the casting of Eccleston. Clunes and Grant previously portrayed Lon and a non-canonical version of the Doctor in [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/DoctorWhoS20E2Snakedance "Snakedance"]] and [[WebAnimation/ScreamOfTheShalka "Scream of the Shalka"]]. Grant, Head, and Suchet would go on to play Dr. Simeon, Mr. Finch, and the Landlord in [[Recap/DoctorWho2012CSTheSnowmen "The Snowmen"]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion "School Reunion"]], and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E4KnockKnock “Knock Knock”]] respectively.

** [[Series/JonathanCreek Alan Davies]], Creator/EddieIzzard, Creator/RichardEGrant, Creator/AnthonyHead, and Creator/DavidSuchet were considered for the part of the Ninth Doctor as well before the casting of Eccleston. Grant previously portrayed a non-canonical version of the Doctor in [[WebAnimation/ScreamOfTheShalka "Scream of the Shalka"]]. Grant, Head, and Suchet would go on to play Dr. Simeon, Mr. Finch, and the Landlord in [[Recap/DoctorWho2012CSTheSnowmen "The Snowmen"]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion "School Reunion"]], and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E4KnockKnock “Knock Knock”]] respectively.

* [[Series/ZCars Hugh David]] was the production team's first candidate for the role of the [[Characters/DoctorWhoFirstDoctor First Doctor]] before Creator/WilliamHartnell was cast, but was turned down by Creator/VerityLambert for being "too young" at the age of thirty-eight. David would later become a director and helm [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E4TheHighlanders “The Highlanders”]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E6FuryFromTheDeep “Fury From The Deep”]].

** Creator/BillNighy, Creator/ShaneRichie, and Creator/AlanCumming were also offered the role of the Ninth Doctor. However, Nighy turned down the offer due to considering the part to be "too much baggage", Richie declined due to filming commitments to ''Series/{{Eastenders}}'', and Cumming backed out after finding out it would take eight months in Cardiff to film it. Nighy would eventually go on to play Dr. Black in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E10VincentAndTheDoctor "Vincent and the Doctor"]], while Cumming would appear as [[UsefulNotes/JamesTheFirst King James VI/I]] in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS37E8TheWitchfinders "The Witchfinders"]].
** [[Series/JonathanCreek Alan Davies]], Creator/EddieIzzard, Creator/RichardEGrant, Creator/AnthonyHead, and Creator/DavidSuchet were considered for the part of the Ninth Doctor as well before the casting of Eccleston. Grant previously portrayed a non-canonical version of the Doctor in [[WebAnimation/ScreamOfTheShalka "Scream of the Shalka"]]. Grant, Head, and Suchet would go on to play Dr. Simeon, Mr. Finch, and the Landlord in [[Recap/DoctorWho2012CSTheSnowmen "The Snowmen"]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion "School Reunion"]], and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E4KnockKnock “Knock Knock”]] respectively.

* Creator/BilliePiper's former husband Radio/ChrisEvans ([[NamesTheSame not]] [[Creator/ChrisEvans that]] [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse one]]) was planned to voice the Beast in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E8TheImpossiblePlanet "The Impossible Planet"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E9TheSatanPit "The Satan Pit"]].

** Creator/BillNighy, Creator/ShaneRichie, and Creator/AlanCumming were also offered the role of the Ninth Doctor. However, Nighy turned down the offer due to considering the part to be "too much baggage", Richie declined due to filming commitments to ''Series/{{Eastenders}}'', while Cumming backed out after finding out it would take eight months in Cardiff to film it. Nighy would eventually go on to play Dr. Black in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E10VincentAndTheDoctor "Vincent and the Doctor"]], while Cumming would appear as [[UsefulNotes/JamesTheFirst King James VI/I]] in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS37E8TheWitchfinders "The Witchfinders"]].

** Creator/BillNighy, Creator/ShaneRichie, and Creator/AlanCumming were also approached for the role of the Ninth Doctor. However, Nighy turned down the offer due to considering the part to be "too much baggage", Richie declined due to filming commitments to ''Series/{{Eastenders}}'', while Cumming backed out after finding out it would take eight months in Cardiff to film it. Nighy would eventually go on to play Dr. Black in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E10VincentAndTheDoctor "Vincent and the Doctor"]], while Cumming would appear as [[UsefulNotes/JamesTheFirst King James VI/I]] in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS37E8TheWitchfinders "The Witchfinders"]].

** Creator/BillNighy and Creator/AlanCumming were also offered the role of the Ninth Doctor. However, Nighy turned down the offer due to considering the part to be "too much baggage", while Cumming backed out after finding out it would take eight months in Cardiff to film it. Nighy would eventually go on to play Dr. Black in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E10VincentAndTheDoctor "Vincent and the Doctor"]], while Cumming would appear as [[UsefulNotes/JamesTheFirst King James VI/I]] in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS37E8TheWitchfinders "The Witchfinders"]].

** Creator/PatersonJoseph, [[Series/GavinAndStacey Mathew Horne]], and Creator/SeanPertwee screen-tested for the Eleventh Doctor as well before the casting of Smith. Joseph previously played Rodrick in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E12BadWolf "Bad Wolf"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E13ThePartingOfTheWays "The Parting of the Ways"]].

* During the early part of Creator/TomBaker's era on the show, he and Creator/IanMarter wrote a speculative script for a feature film called ''Literature/DoctorWhoMeetsScratchman'', which would have been a surreal tale of the Fourth Doctor, Sarah and Harry fighting a reality-warping entity calling itself "Harry Scratch" who was strongly implied to be {{Satan}} himself and who Baker imagined being played by Creator/VincentPrice. There was an unfortunate situation when Baker talked about this in a radio interview and semi-seriously suggested that the budget be crowdfunded by fans — a number of fans sent money in to Baker or the BBC, which had to be returned when BBC lawyers explained that this would be seriously illegal under the rules at the time for soliciting financial investments for a commercial venture. The script was eventually novelised by Baker and James Goss in 2019.

** [[Series/{{Lovejoy}} Chris Jury]], [[Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Ken Campbell]], [[Film/CarryOnBehind Hugh Futcher]], Creator/TonyRobinson, [[Series/FawltyTowers Andrew Sachs]], and [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade Alexei Sayle]] auditioned for the role of the Seventh Doctor before the casting of [=McCoy=]. Sayle previously played the DJ in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E6RevelationOfTheDaleks "Revelation of the Daleks"]]. Jury would eventually go on to portray Deadbeat in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E4TheGreatestShowintheGalaxy "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy"]].

* Creator/RichardGriffiths was considered for the part of the [[Characters/DoctorWhoFifthDoctor Fifth Doctor]] before Creator/PeterDavison was cast. Griffiths was later considered as one of the production team's top candidates to play the [[Characters/DoctorWhoFifthDoctor Eighth Doctor]] had the series not been cancelled in 1989.

** A female Doctor was on the wishlist of many fans for decades before Creator/JodieWhittaker was announced as the [[Characters/DoctorWhoThirteenthDoctor Thirteenth Doctor]], and Creator/SydneyNewman would have had one ready to go in 1987 if he had returned as showrunner, recommending [[Film/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Frances De La Tour]], Creator/DawnFrench, and Creator/JoannaLumley for the Seventh Doctor. Lumley would later appear in the non-canonical [[Recap/DoctorWhoTheCurseOfFatalDeath "The Curse of Fatal Death"]] as [[HilariousInHindsight the Thirteenth Doctor]].

* [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime "The End of Time"]]: Creator/PatrickStewart was offered the role of Rassilon.

* Russell T Davies, Steven Moffat and company originally wanted Sally Sparrow, the heroine of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E10Blink "Blink"]], to be the Series 4 companion, but her actress Creator/CareyMulligan turned down the offer to become a regular. From there...

* Had Creator/JennaColeman left as planned in [[Recap/DoctorWho2014CSLastChristmas "Last Christmas"]], Faye Marsay's character Shona [[https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2018-08-06/doctor-who-steven-moffat-replace-jenna-coleman-companion/ was considered as a possible successor companion]] for Clara Oswald.

** Creator/RobertCarlyle was considered for the Eleventh Doctor, but he got cast in ''Series/StargateUniverse'' instead.

* Russell T. Davies, Steven Moffat and company originally wanted Sally Sparrow, the heroine of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E10Blink "Blink"]], to be the Series 4 companion, but her actress Creator/CareyMulligan turned down the offer to become a regular. From there...
** Penny Carter would have been the companion in Series 4 if Creator/CatherineTate had not come back to reprise the role of Donna. Russell T. Davies's book ''The Writer's Tale'' details more about Penny: she would have been a journalist in her thirties, from the north of England, with a snobbish mother and amateur astronomer grandfather (later re-worked into the characters of Sylvia Noble and Wilfred Mott). She was to be a love interest for the Doctor and join him after she discovered that her live-in boyfriend was cheating on her. A guest character in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E1PartnersInCrime "Partners in Crime"]] was ultimately named Penny Carter in homage to her.

* Creator/RussellTDavies reportedly submitted a pitch for a low-budget revival of the show as early as 2000. This would have featured a group of kids in an everyday suburb befriending a crazy old man (or woman) who claimed that they used to travel in space and time, and discovering that they weren't so crazy after all. The parallels to ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' have not gone unnoticed with fans.
* Part of the reason why it took until 2005 for the series to be relaunched were late-1990s/early-2000s attempts by the BBC's cinema arm BBC Films to try to get a movie made. None of their attempts got to the point of a script being drafted or casting being settled, but among individuals reported at different times to have been approached or to have approached the BBC themselves were Ed Solomon (writer of the ''Film/BillAndTed'' films and the first ''Film/MenInBlack'' film) and Creator/PaulWSAnderson.
* Among the alternative pitches considered for the 2005 relaunch were Dan Freedman's fantasy retelling (to have continued from the web series "Death Comes to Time"), Matthew Graham's Gothic-styled pitch, and Creator/MarkGatiss' reboot, which would have made the ''Doctor'' the audience surrogate character instead of his companions.

* Russell T. Davies expressed interest in utilizing the Raston Warrior Robot from [[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors "The Five Doctors"]], but nothing ever came of it.

* During the early part of Tom Baker's era on the show, he and Ian Marter wrote a speculative script for a feature film called ''Literature/DoctorWhoMeetsScratchman'', which would have been a surreal tale of the Fourth Doctor, Sarah and Harry fighting a reality-warping entity calling itself "Harry Scratch" who was strongly implied to be {{Satan}} himself and who Baker imagined being played by Creator/VincentPrice. There was an unfortunate situation when Baker talked about this in a radio interview and semi-seriously suggested that the budget be crowdfunded by fans — a number of fans sent money in to Baker or the BBC, which had to be returned when BBC lawyers explained that this would be seriously illegal under the rules at the time for soliciting financial investments for a commercial venture. The script was eventually novelised by Baker and James Goss in 2019.

* At one point in the '90s, Canadian animation studio Nelvana proposed a ''Doctor Who'' animated series, which never got beyond the concept art stage. It would apparently have featured a Doctor who dressed like Creator/TomBaker's version but bore a heavy facial resemblance to Creator/ChristopherLloyd.

* Creator/BilliePiper's former husband Radio/ChrisEvans ([[NamesTheSame not]] [[Creator/ChrisEvans that]] [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse one]])was planned to voice the Beast in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E8TheImpossiblePlanet "The Impossible Planet"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E9TheSatanPit "The Satan Pit"]].

* Creator/BilliePiper's former husband Radio/ChrisEvans was planned to voice the Beast in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E8TheImpossiblePlanet "The Impossible Planet"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E9TheSatanPit "The Satan Pit"]].

** Creator/AnthonyHead, Creator/TimMcInnerny, Creator/RobertLindsay, Creator/NathanielParker, [[Series/{{Conquest}} Peter Woodward]], Creator/TonySlattery, [[Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway John Sessions]], and [[Series/TheHangingGale Mark McGann]] screen-tested for the part as well before the casting of [=McGann=]. Head would go on to play Mr. Finch in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion "School Reunion"]], while [=McInnerny=] would portray Halpen in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E3PlanetOfTheOod "Planet of the Ood"]].

** Creator/AnthonyHead, Creator/TimMcInnerny, Creator/RobertLindsay, Creator/NathanielParker, [[Series/{{Conquest}} Peter Woodward]], Creator/TonySlattery, [[Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway John Sessions]], and [[Series/TheHangingGale Mark McGann]] carried out screen-tests for the part before the casting of [=McGann=]. Head would go on to play Mr. Finch in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion "School Reunion"]], while [=McInnerny=] would portray Halpen in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E3PlanetOfTheOod "Planet of the Ood"]].