Martin Clunes was poised to become the NEW Doctor – but it is claimed he pulled out in a row over cash.
The Men Behaving Badly star had signed up for the Christmas special with producers wanting to give him the full-time job this year. But four days before filming, the deal is said to have collapsed as terms could not be agreed.
David Morrissey, 44, was cast instead at the last minute as a second Time Lord opposite David Tennant, 37.
Bosses were desperate for Clunes, 47, to fill Tennant’s shoes if the special episode had gone well. In the end, they chose the relatively unknown Matt Smith who was much cheaper to cast. However, Clune's agent has since denied that he dropped out over money disputes.
A source said: “Producers wanted Martin to take over Tennant’s job full-time and were desperate to see him in the Christmas episode.
They saw it as a trial for the main job but they found the whole casting process very frustrating.
“Talent comes at a price and the show could simply not afford Martin. It’s a shame as he would have been perfect.”
Clunes’s first ever job in TV was as Lon in Doctor Who - Snakedance in 1983 alongside Peter Davison as the Time Lord. Talking about the role on chat show Parkinson, Clunes joked: “I thought that I was brilliant.
mirror.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment