Phoebe Waller-Bridge has confirmed she’s not been cast as the next Doctor Who.
The ‘Fleabag’ actress set tongues wagging on Wednesday (05.07.17) night when she got herself in a fluster while appearing on ‘Newsnight’ after she was asked whether she had been approached to play the female version of the next Time Lord but, after getting fans excited, she’s now confirmed via her writing theatre company DryWrite that she’s not in the running for the part and urged people to save their betting money.
Taking to the company’s official Twitter account, she said: "We can confirm that Phoebe is not the next Doctor Who. Pls save the betting people their money! Thanks (sic)"
Rumours began to swirl after the 31-year-old star gave a nervous laugh and told viewers that she couldn’t say "anything" about the time-travelling scientist.
She said: "I … um … not allowed to say anything about that one way or another … It would be cool. But… quite … doing other stuff," before giving out another giggle.
Speculation about who is taking on the iconic role once Peter Capaldi – who has played the titular character for four years – leaves has been rife since he announced he was turning his back on the sci-fi series but the BBC have said it won’t be a woman.
However, although the festive special is fast approaching, Chris Chibnall – who will take over from Steven Moffat as executive producer at the end of the year – is planning to write the script before he picks his lead.
He said: "We’ll cast the role in the traditional way: write the script, then go and find the best person for that part in that script. You couldn’t go out and cast an abstract idea.
"The creative possibilities are endless, but I have a very clear sense of what we’re going to do, without even knowing who’s going to play the part."