Steven Moffat explains the reason why in his years of overseeing Doctor Who, the series has not had any female doctors. Since taking the reins as the series' head writer and executive producer from  Russell T. Davies in season 5, Moffat was significantly involved in tapping both Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor followed by Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor and current iteration of the character.

Given the nature of the Doctor's role with its regenerating capabilities, which allows the character to be played by numerous actors, discussion about who will be next to take control of the TARDIS comes up every few years when it is time to bid goodbye to the old incarnation and hello to the new one. Over the course of the show, we were treated to 12 white males portraying the iconic character. But with calls for diversity in media intensifying over the years, campaigns for a female Doctor are now being pushed more relentlessly. Moffat, however, addresses his decision to not go against the grain, in terms of casting, in his eight years on the job.

In a recent interview with BBC Radio 4, Moffat explains his decision by saying that gender had nothing to do with it. Instead, he went with the actor he wanted to work with in bringing his version of Doctor Who to television:

“I didn’t not cast a woman… I cast a man. I didn’t [cast a woman] because I wanted to cast Matt Smith and I wanted to cast Peter Capaldi. I didn’t think it was a terrible idea [to cast a woman], I just thought, ‘I want to cast those people’ – that was it.”

While Moffat did not cast the first female Doctor in his tenure, it is cannot be denied that both Smith and Capaldi did a great job in their respective seasons. The producer also introduced three wonderful female companions to Smith and Capaldi in Karen Gillan, Jenna Coleman, and Pearl Mackie.

Moffat is scheduled to hand the keys to TARDIS to his successor, Broadchurch writer Chris Chibnall. His departure comes almost at the same time as Capaldi stepping away from the iconic character once the current season wraps up. With Doctor Who going through a major shake-up before its expected return for season 11, it might be the best opportunity to shake things up and finally cast a female Doctor.

So far, there have been multiple fan movements campaigning for their own respective bets to be the next lead of Doctor Who. Current frontrunner to take on the iconic mantle is Tilda Swinton. Other prominent choices include Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Maxine Peake, and Olivia Coleman.

Next: Alan Cumming Was Offered Doctor Who Role Twice

Source: BBC 4 Radio [via We Got This Covered]