Doctor Who has many an iconic episode but one almost led screenwriter Steven Moffat to reintroduce a former Time Lord into the mix to take over from Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor. If you’re an avid watcher of the fantasy sci-fi franchise then The Name of The Doctor will mean something to you, where we get a glimpse of past Doctors as the alien saviour steps into his time-stream to avoid The Great Intelligence wiping out all his good deeds.
Which would have been hugely inconvenient because let’s face it, there’s a lot of them.
In the seventh series episode, the entity is hellbent on getting revenge and lures him to Trenzalore by taking his friends hostage.
In order to unlock the doors of a new and improved giant TARDIS, The Doctor must reveal his name, which he gallantly refuses.
Instead, River Song gives away the precious details and low and behold The Great Intelligence begins its work, deleting information about The Doctor’s life and positive work.
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As his side-kick Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) enters the time-stream to restore the Doctor’s timeline, we catch glimpses of past Time Lord incarnations before the Eleventh steps in to guide her back.
It ends on a jaw-dropping note where John Hurt turns around, revealing himself as The War Doctor who fought in the great Time War.
But Moffat revealed he had drafted another ending to try on for size.
This alternative story, saw the Eleventh Doctor wake up as the Ninth Doctor (played by Christopher Eccleston) on Gallifrey.
And we might have been given a hint, as Lucifer’s Tom Ellis admitted that before landing the lead role on the fantasy TV show, he would have liked to have taken on the challenge of playing The Doctor.
In a recent interview, the demon detective said: “Back in the day, I would have loved to have had an opportunity to play Doctor Who.
“I just never think that ever would have happened.
“Partly because I’d have done this show – and I just don’t think people thought of me like that,” he told Square Mile.
