Robbie Williams was nearly Doctor Who

Popular human male "singer" Robbie Williams nearly played The Doctor back in 2003. A documentary on the DVD for the online Doctor Who story Scream of the Shalka (full details HERE) reveals that the Take That performer was interested in the role, and the production team were just as interested in having him play the Time Lord.

Speaking on making-of documentary Carry On Screaming, producer Muirinn Lane Kelly said: "We got word that Robbie Williams was interested in playing The Doctor. We all sat around wondering, 'Is this a good idea? Is this a crazy idea?' Although, when it all shook down it turned out he wasn't available and it wasn't that possible."

Shalka writer Paul Cornell added, "Because we were reaching for the mainstream I actually thought he's one of the most famous people in Britain. It would actually get us an enormous kick of attention"

Producer James Goss stated, "Think about it, if you really wanted to bring Doctor Who to a whole new audience, it would have been the most popular, talked-about thing the BBC website ever did."

Older readers may remember that Richard E Grant would eventually play the role of The Doctor in the story.  Scream of the Shalka is released on Sept 16 in the UK and Sep 17 in North America. Pre-order it HERE.

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