As Doctor Who moves forward with the Sixteenth Doctor, they will need a new companion, and these eight actors would be absolutely perfect choices. After the departure of Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor, the show was in flux. However, we now have a clear idea of the path forward.

The BBC is moving forward on its own with Doctor Who, promising a 2026 Christmas special and likely a season after that. Disney’s out. Most of the fandom chatter since then has focused on who should be the next Doctor and the next Doctor Who showrunner.

However, Doctor Who isn’t shaped solely by those admittedly important individuals. The show has other major roles to fill. Eventually, we need another actor to play Doctor Who‘s Master/Missy, especially after the golden tooth tease in the 60th anniversary special. Additionally, Doctor Who season 16 needs to cast its next companion after Belinda Chandra departed. While many could take on the next companion role, these eight British actors would be absolutely perfect choices.

8

India Amarteifio

Known For Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story

The name India Amarteifio likely won’t sound familiar to many Doctor Who fans, but the actress played a student in Amy Pond’s class in Doctor Who season 9. It was one of the actress’s first roles as a child actor. Since then, she’s blossomed into a powerhouse performer who can command a screen.

Her performances in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story and The Midwich Cuckoos show her range. She can handle softer, more emotional scenes as well as the tougher ones. On top of that, she’s a younger actor, which tends to be the direction Doctor Who goes for the companions.

Doctor Who has a history of starting an actor in a minor, one-off role and, later, making them into a bigger role. It almost feels like a franchise tradition, at this point. India Amarteifio should absolutely join the ranks of the Doctor Who cast members who played more than one role. The young actress would make a perfect companion.

7

Archie Renaux

Known For Alien: Romulus & Shadow & Bone

Actor Archie Renaux is in his late 20s and would be a fantastic Doctor Who companion. Archie Renaux gives memorable performances whether he’s onscreen for 2 minutes or 2 hours. Even though he has only 19 credits to his name, he has acted in virtually every genre, which is extremely important for an actor taking on a bigger Doctor Who role.

While it’s technically classified as sci-fi, Doctor Who often dabbles in history, fantasy, mystery, and occasionally romance. On top of that, Archie Renaux said in an interview with Collider that he’s a huge fan of sci-fi and fantasy.

Renaux told them, “[T]o get to do [sci-fi and fantasy] is feeding that inner child in me, when I put on the costume, and then get to go out on these wonderful sets and am a part of these epic stories…” The actor’s passion for the genre would bode well for an actor taking on the role of a Doctor Who companion.

6

James Acaster

Best Known For Taskmaster

To those familiar with James Acaster, this name might seem odd on the list because he’s primarily a comedian who occasionally acts. He’s best known for his comedy routines and his performances on Taskmaster.

However, I think James Acaster would be pretty perfect as a Doctor Who companion. Acaster gave a solid performance in both Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and Cinderella. He faded into his characters, feeling like Lars and John rather than James Acaster playing Lars and John.

His strong sense of humor can also be used to the show’s advantage. The Doctor Who companions generally need to balance out the Doctor. The show has previously introduced comedic companions. Think Ian Chesterton, Jack Harkness, Donna Noble, and Dan Lewis. Depending on how serious or intense the next Doctor is, James Acaster’s companion could help bring some levity and wit.

5

Ella Purnell

Best Known For Fallout

Ella Purnell would be the number one actor on my list to play the Doctor if it weren’t for the fact that she’s a little too famous at this point. Sweetpea and Fallout are performing well. She has two projects in pre-production. Plus, she could potentially return for Yellowjackets season 4. Mind you, I’d still celebrate if she played the title role.

What’s more, I love that Doctor Who usually casts up-and-comers in the main role. That being said, she would be a fantastic companion if she could carve out time in her schedule. Over the course of her career, she has played a good-hearted hero, a hardened rebel, a murderer, and a strong yet emotionally vulnerable young woman, to name a few.

Plus, many fans have already jumped on board with casting Purnell in Doctor Who. A frequent social media question is “What would you think of Ella Purnell playing the Sixteenth Doctor,” with plenty of positive responses towards the idea of her being the Doctor or a companion.

4

Kingsley Ben-Adiri

Best Known For One Love & Secret Invasion

Actor Kingsley Ben-Adiri has appeared in several notable TV shows and movies, yet he still feels like an up-and-coming presence in the industry. He hasn’t quite skyrocketed in popularity yet. In fact, the actor was listed on the TIME100 Next list for 2024, highlighting him as a rising star after he played Bob Marley in One Love.

This combination of “recognizable” and “fresh” makes him the perfect choice for Doctor Who. He isn’t completely unfamiliar, but his role won’t be overshadowed by decades of roles, either. What’s more, he has proven in his past performances that he’s capable of handling such heavy pressure.

Ben-Adiri has played Malcom X, Barack Obama, and Bob Marley. If that’s not pressure, I don’t know what is. However, he handled each role with the care and time that it needed to be great. There’s no doubt he could cope with the heavy expectations of playing a major role in Doctor Who, and his performances prove he’s talented enough.

3

Ambika Mod

Best Known For This Is Going To Hurt & One Day

Ambika Mod is someone that I could see playing either the Doctor or a companion and nailing either role. The actor is a star in the making, and Doctor Who could be the platform for that. Mod is a dynamic actor, and I’ve never seen her give a truly bad performance.

Mod knocks it out of the park in This Is Going To Hurt and One Day, for which she received awards. Although she wasn’t the lead in the former, her character, Shruti, is the heart of the medical drama. She also did her best with The Stolen Girl, a show where every actor was let down by a poor script.

Mod also gave a critically-praised performance in Duncan Macmillan’s one-person play, Every Brilliant Thing (via Liam O’Dell). This role required her to handle intense emotions and bubbliness within a single performance without pause. With such a strong portfolio, fresh energy, and a huge personality, Ambika Mod would be a fantastic actor for Doctor Who.

2

Josh O’Connor

Known For The Crown

Critics’ Choice and Emmy Award winner Josh O’Connor is a fantastic actor who has proven time and time again that he’s capable of giving strong performances. For almost the past decade, O’Connor has taken on supporting and leading roles. He’s best-known for playing Prince Charles in The Crown and Johnny Saxby in God’s Own Country.

Although he’s primarily acted in dramatic projects and period pieces, he has branched out into rom-coms, mysteries, and some comedies. So far, all his ventures into new genres have been successful, so it’s reasonable to think he’d successfully handle the transition into science fiction with Doctor Who.

This would, once again, be a fun instance of an actor in a one-off role in Doctor Who coming back later. O’Connor played a soldier on the Firebird submarine named Piotr in the Eleventh Doctor episode “Cold War,” from season 7.

1

Carrie Hope Fletcher

Known For Heathers: The Musical & Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella

Carrie Hope Fletcher is a name that many theater fans will recognize. The actress is a West End performer who has only a couple onscreen credits to her name. However, during her time onstage, she has acted across a variety of genres and even originated two major roles – Veronica in Heathers: The Musical and Cinderella in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella.

Other than those two, here are just some of the roles she has played onstage:

• Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family
• Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
• Young Eponine, Eponine, and Fantine in Les Misérables
• Jane Banks in Mary Poppins
• Jenna Hunterson in Waitress
• Calamity Jane in Calamity Jane

Fletcher is one of the most versatile performers. What’s more, some of the most successful British actors, including Tom Holland and Dame Maggie Smith, have started out performing on the West End and then transitioned into performing onscreen. So, it wouldn’t be unheard of for her to do both.

Having seen some of her performances, she’s more than capable of handling whatever Doctor Who could throw at her. On top of that, she was a part of Doctor Who: The Fan Show in 2015 because she’s a huge fan, describing it as something she loves “with everything she has.” In that interview, she even mentioned that she always thought of herself as the Doctor Who companion. Her passion for the show would make her a perfect choice.

Release Date

May 11, 2024

Network

BBC One

Directors

Alex Pillai, Peter Hoar, Ben Chessell, Julie Anne Robinson, Jamie Donoughue, Amanda Brotchie, Dylan Holmes Williams

Writers

Steven Moffat, Pete McTighe, Kate Herron, Inua Ellams, Juno Dawson

Franchise(s)

Doctor Who / Whoniverse