Paul McGann: "I don't mind doing a little bit every now and again, and stealing all the glory!"

Paul McGann is open the idea of returning as the Eighth Doctor every now and again.

The actor made his debut as the Time Lord nearly 20 years ago in 1996’s ‘TV Movie’ and reprised the role in 2013’s minisode ‘The Night of the Doctor’, which earned 2.5 million views across YouTube, iPlayer and the BBC Red Button in its first week alone.

Fans have petitioned since then for McGann to return.

McGann told DS: “I don’t mind doing a little bit every now and again and stealing all the glory! It’s quite fun. You’re coming in at the 89th minute and scoring the winning penalty – yeah, I’ll do that.”

He joked: “Whereas poor old [Peter] Capaldi’s gotta do nine months and 16-hour days. Yeah, OK, let him do that. Let someone else do the heavy lifting!”

 McGann admitted that his Doctor Who debut - a co-production between the BBC and Fox in the US - "feels like a bit of a dream now".

"Back in '96 / '97, when the pilot failed to go to a series, sure you're disappointed for a day but only 'cos maybe you saw pound signs," he admitted. "My kids were little and that might've taken care of them - it was a nice big contract."

"But that's what living in the arts is like. One minute it's there, the next it's gone and you're doing something else - and suddenly your kids don't have to be Canadians, and you can stay home, and three weeks later you're doing something else."