Iconic Doctor Who star brutally snubbed by BBC as part of 60th anniversary

Fans have noticed one Doctor Who star has been omitted as part of its anniversary celebrations.

A former Time Lord was snubbed from BBC Breakfast’s report on the beloved sci-fi series earlier this week. It comes after fans and former stars are celebrating 60 years of the hit show which first aired in 1963. Over a dozen actors have been able to carry the baton through the decades, with some stars lasting only months while others have played the iconic role for years.

However, fans were disappointed with the lack of appreciation for Paul McGann’s portrayal of the Doctor. The 64-year-old was missing from the BBC montage. Reporter Lizo Mzimba’s report saw achives of other actors who had taken on the iconic role from William Hartnell to Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy.

Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi and Jodie Whittaker also appeared as well as an image of incoming Doctor Ncuti Gatwa. Fans took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to share their upset. One said: “#DoctorWho noticing an astoundingly jarring lack of Paul McGann recognition by the BBC today. Hope it leads to something.”

Another added: “@BBCBreakfast you had better let Lizo know that his Doctor Who report omits Paul McGann from its montage- I am calm but some Whovians might be outraged.” Someone else commented: “@BBCNews might be an oversight (hope it was anyway) but couldn’t help but notice the lack of Paul McGann during your Doctor Who segment this morning. Especially during the montage of previous actors playing the role.”

Despite Paul not featuring in the report, the actor is set for a Doctor Who comeback. Russell T Davies – the man who rebooted it in 2005 – is at the helm of spin-offs being planned to increase the Whoniverse. The spin offs will work in the same way that Disney created series for Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe that stream on Disney+.

A source told The Mirror: “Russell likes the idea of bringing back McGann with his own set of episodes in the TARDIS. Disney are on board as they want more original content and want to fully exploit the franchise as they know how big it could become.” Speaking in an interview recently, Paul said he would be interested, adding: “I finally got to be in an episode. The fans tell me that they hope there will be a chance of some more, that would be nice. I would be well up for it.”

Paul was only given one proper outing on-screen as the Doctor. The ill-fated TV movie was supposed to lead to a new series, but ratings were low in the US so Fox and Universal decided not to produce one. McGann has claimed he would have come back if bosses had asked, but when the series returned he was nowhere to be seen.

Despite the disappointment, McGann has carried on with the role of the Eighth Doctor in audio versions and did appear in 2013 mini episode, The Night of the Doctor. Since his movie appearance, McGann has appeared in Alien 3, Gypo and Lesbian Vampire Killers. He also starred as John Gaskell in 40 episodes of Holby City.