A Doctor for Our Time: Is That Even Possible Anymore? Is Billie Piper the Time Lord for the Job?
- SimplyWho
- Jul 27
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 31
We live in a fucked up world. Everything’s a battle. Politics. Identity. Culture. Doctor Who.
So here is a question for you…
Is it even possible anymore to cast a Doctor that doesn’t immediately divide people? Can we still find a Doctor who feels right for now?
Here's the twist at the end though. What if we already have that person in Billie Piper?
Everything is Political Now, Whether We Like It or Not
Once upon a time, finding out who the next Doctor was, was exciting. Now, it’s controversial before they’ve even filmed a scene, and all the fun is sucked out of it. If the Doctor’s a woman - backlash. If he’s gay - woooooookkkkke. If they cast a white man again - criticism from the other side.
And that’s not because Doctor Who has changed. It’s because we have. The world is angrier, louder, and more tribal than ever. Everyone feels like their identity is under threat, and everyone wants to see themselves reflected - or wants to defend what they think the show used to be. Or, you know, some people are just racist/bigoted twats.
In that kind of environment, is there any Doctor who could unite people? Maybe not all people, that's never going to happen. But enough people.
What We Really Want Is Someone Who Feels Real
Maybe we’ve been asking the wrong question.
It’s not about race, gender, or sexuality, not really. It’s about whether the actor feels like a real person. Someone we can believe in. Someone flawed, but kind. Someone who cares. Someone who has something to say without lecturing. Someone who listens, jokes, fights, stumbles, but is still a legend enough to try and do the right thing.
David Tennant gave us that. But then he was the Doctor at a time when the world seemed a little calmer. Would he have been so popular in today's world? I know a lot of people would be slating him for his support of the trans community.
So why do I think Billie might be the Time Lord for the job?
The Case for Billie Piper as the Doctor
Billie Piper is everything I want the Doctor to be. Fun, slightly bonkers, human.
She’s been through hell, publicly and privately. She speaks her mind. She doesn't try to please everyone.
And maybe that’s exactly what we need right now.
If she were the Doctor, she wouldn’t be a perfect icon. She’d be complicated. Sarcastic. Passionate. Maybe a bit damaged. But she’d also be bold. Fierce. Deeply empathetic.
She’d be real.
In a world of bullshit, that might be the only kind of hero people can actually connect with.
Could She Unite People?
She might be just divisive enough to not be divisive.
People who love Billie already trust her. People who don’t might be intrigued. Fans of the Tennant years would show up out of curiosity.
She's a completely different person and actor to the days of Rose Tyler. She's a mother, she's married and divorced a complete cunt. She's lost and she's won.
She wouldn’t be cast because she’s a woman, she would be cast because she's bloody brilliant, and different.
She’s a Doctor for right now because she doesn’t fit neatly into any side. She's not a white guy, and she isn't a token gesture either.
She's both a safe and unsafe pair of hands. She is the Doctor!
Maybe the Doctor Shouldn’t Please Everyone
The Doctor has never been about making everyone comfortable. The Doctor argues with authority, breaks the rules, and loves loudly. They don’t follow the trend.
So maybe the Doctor of 2025 and beyond doesn’t need to be unifying in the traditional sense.
Maybe they just need to remind us what it looks like to care. To stand up for the little guy. To make people watching think that maybe the Doctor has a point here. They aren't being woke, or racist, they are just trying to do what they think is kind.
And maybe, just maybe, that voice could be Billie Piper.
I really hope something comes of that regeneration, I really hope Billie is more than just a one off thing or a trick.
What I hope may not happen, but I think the BBC would now be missing a trick if Billie wasn't the Sixteenth Doctor.
She could be... Fantastic!
Do you think it is possible to cast a Doctor that the majority of the public would get behind? Who do you think that Doctor could be? Do you think it could be Billie? Let me know in the comments below.
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