Who’s better ... who’s best?

Tennant pips Jodie as our favourite Time Lord

DAVID Tennant has been voted the best Doctor Who.

A poll of more than 50,000 fans, which was carried out by RadioTimes. com, saw the Scottish actor finish ahead of his nearest challenger Jodie Whittaker by just 95 votes.

The pair each received 21 per cent of votes, with Tennant selected by 10,518 people compared to Whittaker’s 10,423.

Jodie is currently starring as the Doctor and is the first woman to take on the role, while Tennant played the part in the famous sci- fi series between 2005 and 2010.

Survey respondents were asked to choose between 13 Time Lords.

Peter Capaldi came third in the poll with 8,897 votes ( 18 per cent).

Matt Smith attracted 7,637 votes ( 16 per cent) placing him fourth, while Tom Baker was fifth with 3,977 ( eight per cent). Peter Davison, who played the Doctor in the 1980s, came bottom with just 351 votes ( one per cent).

Huw Fullerton, sci- fi and fantasy editor at RadioTimes. com, said: “Over a decade after he left the Tardis behind and after nearly 50,000 votes were cast, it’s clear David Tennant is still Doctor Who fans’ perfect 10.

“But with Jodie Whittaker hot on his heels and a great showing for other recent Doctors like Peter Capaldi, it looks like the fans also hold other Time Lords close to their hearts.”

Struggling

The older doctors who starred in the show’s early days in the 1960s and 1970s struggled in the poll.

William Hartnell, the first actor to play the Time Lord when the programme launched in 1963, came sixth, with just four per cent of the vote.

The second doctor, Patrick Troughton, came 10th with two per cent while the third doctor, Jon Pertwee, came ninth, also with two per cent.

Filming on the latest BBC season with Whittaker as the Time Lord was due to start this month. However, it has been put back until later in the year due to the pandemic.

That means fans will be lucky to catch any new action with the Doctor and her companion Yaz ( Mandip Gill) until either late 2021, or even 2022.

Producers are also struggling to work out how they can make the same number of shows within budget.

One source said pushing the show back to 2022 was looking increasingly likely, adding: “If there is a series finished and ready to go next year it will be nothing short of a miracle. And it’s going to cost a fortune.”

A BBC source said: “Filming is going ahead as planned and we remain hopeful that the next series will air in 2021.”

The cast did however manage to shoot a Christmas special with the Daleks earlier this year.