Thread by @garwboy

In honour of the news of #RTD returning as showrunner of #DoctorWho, here, for newer followers, is the tale of how I was (briefly) rumoured to be in line as the new Doctor

/1

It was the mid-2000s, and I was part of a BBC Wales TV fly-on-the-wall/reality TV game show about comedians in Cardiff. Don't bother looking for it, it's not worth your time

But because of this, we were put in touch with the local media

/2

I was doing my PhD at the time, so the "A scientist? Doing comedy? Whatever next!" angle was apparently an enticing one

It was also early January. That's why the local paper decided to get my thoughts on something called 'Blue Monday', aka the most depressing day of the year

/3

My, uh, 'thoughts' about Blue Monday have been extensively documented at this point

theguardian.com/science/blog/2…

But this is where it all began. It became the bane of my life, and also launched my writing career. So, mixed blessing really

/4

I wasn't especially media-savvy back then, though. So when the local paper asked me to talk about Blue Monday, I said yes, sure.

And when they said they needed some pictures to go with the piece, I said yes, sure. Which I wouldn't, now.

/5

So, the end result is, while I was trying to complete my neuroscience PhD and become a serious researcher, *this* appeared in the local paper, the one sold in my work building, among other places.

Wasn't great for my academic credibility, I'll say that much.

/6

The thing is, though, *this* picture, of me in a cowboy hat, suit jacket, and scarf, splashing in puddles like an eccentric/maniac, was taken by professional photographers down Cardiff Bay, where I was living at the time

/7

I did see a few interested strangers taking pics with their digital cameras (this was pre 'smartphones are commonplace')

Which is presumably why I saw similar photos of me on a site/forum some days later, under the heading "IS THIS THE NEW DOCTOR WHO?"

/8

Because I had contacts at the BBC and knew that the 'next Doctor' was a closely guarded thing, I emailed the person I knew to say they might have seen a rumour about a new Doctor being spotted, but don't worry, it's just me.

/9

Their reply?

"Thanks. They've not actually cast it yet, but I've put your name forward for consideration".

Which led to several frantic replies from me that they should definitely not do that, for so many reasons.

/10

So yeah. In another universe, I ended up as The Doctor, and the show would have been cancelled again in under a year. I would say it's a worse universe than this one, but... [gestures at everything]

/End