Coronation Street icon addresses speculation she'll play the Doctor in Doctor Who spin-off

A former soap star has addressed speculation that she's being considered to voice the title role in a Doctor Who spin-off. The upcoming project is in development at the moment but no casting has been unveiled for it yet.

It was announced recently that there are plans to launch a pre-school animation series about the Doctor on CBeebies. The BBC said that the Doctor Who spin-off for a younger audience will "run independently" from the main show.

There's been speculation about the project, with a thread on Reddit last week naming actors who could voice the Doctor. It claimed that the broadcaster's shortlist includes Justin Fletcher, Richard E. Grant and Denise Welch.

Denise, 67 - whose acting career has included roles on shows like Coronation Street and Waterloo Road - has since addressed the speculation. She reacted to being named in the thread in a post on Instagram this afternoon.

Alongside a photo showing part of the thread, she wrote in the post: "I definitely think this job should be mine." Denise, who tagged Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies, 62, then used two thumbs up and the 'flushed face' emoji.

Although they don't appear to have previously worked together, Denise and Russell are both patrons of the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester. They both took on the role in 2019, joining Tracie Bennett, who became a patron in 2016.

Loose Women panelist Denise has appeared in numerous TV shows over the course of her career, including having played Natalie Barnes on Corrie. Her other credits include Waterloo Road, Benidorm and more recently Hollyoaks.

The BBC announced the CBeebies spin-off of Doctor Who on June 12. It shared that the animated show will see the Doctor travelling through time and space, solving mysteries and problems alongside companions and other friends.

In a statement issued at the time, Patricia Hidalgo, Director of Children's and Education, said: "Everyone is welcome at CBeebies, including the Doctor!" Patricia went on to describe the upcoming series as an "exciting opportunity".

Patricia said: "This much-loved franchise entertains millions around the world, so it is only right that our younger audience get to experience the wonder and the magic of the Doctor in a brand new format. This is an extremely exciting opportunity, and we are looking forward to welcoming companies to pitch for this new project, as we continue our commitment and investment in the UK's animation industry."

The news comes just weeks after the latest series of Doctor Who concluded last month. The season finale, the Reality War, which aired on May 31, marked the departure of lead Ncuti Gatwa, who had played the Doctor since 2023.

At the end of the episode, viewers saw Ncuti's Fifteenth Doctor regenerate - with Billie Piper then shown in his place - in a bid to save Poppy (played by Sienna-Robyn Mavanga-Phipps). In one reality, Poppy was the child of the Doctor and his companion Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu).

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