An overwhelmingly popular choice is none other than our very own Mr Molony! The interwebs are buzzing with support for Damien to be the twelfth Timelord, and he is a top favourite with online media and the wider audience – on Skybet he is currently in second place, with odds of 10/1.

source @walkbythesea

Damien looks utterly the part in the fan vision above and having played the complex, multifaceted, ancient vampire Hal in BBC Being Human – a character who has lived many lifetimes and carries the private burden of his own secret histories and mysteries, with an enigmatic energy and a powerfully magnetic combination of darkness and lightness; charming, awkward, angsty, eccentric with compelling amounts of quirk – he has all the credentials to play a very magnificant next regenerated timelord.

So….. would our favourite thesp be interested in playing the role if asked? Damien’s response to a fan question in a Q & A on the BBC Being Human Blog earlier this year suggests so:

The Doctor is one of the most iconic parts for an actor to play, up there with Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, it is such an epic series. Following in the footsteps of so many great actors, it would be an honour to play The Doctor…”

Damien is highly suited and at the right point in his rapidly expanding career to become the next Doctor – and one thing is for certain, a rising star of his calibre will be snapped up soon.

But WHOever picks up the mantle (see what we did there?) it is heartening to see the mass championing and recognition of Damien and his talent for such a coveted role, surely hastening his regular return to our TV screens.