Ben Whishaw named as favourite to become new Doctor Who

Ben Whishaw is the favourite to take over as Doctor Who, according to leading bookmakers. 

The Skyfall star, who is currently working on the sequel to Paddington, has been named at 6/1 by William Hill to take over the role from Peter Capaldi, who announced on Monday (January 30th) that he would be leaving the role. 

Whishaw is closely followed by The I.T Crowd's Richard Ayoade, veteran Rory Kinnear, and Harry Potter's Rupert Grint, who are all 8/10, while Snatch star Jason Fleyming and House Of Cards' Ben Daniels are both 10/1. 

Other interesting bets are a returning Matt Smith at 16/1, Billie Piper and Olivia Colman who are both rated 20/1 to become the first female Doctor Who, while Stephen Fry is 33/1, Benedict Cumberbatch 50/1 and James Corden 66/1. 

Capaldi was the 12th actor to occupy the role after taking over from Matt Smith in 2013 and will complete his spell on the show next Christmas when his final episode is broadcast. 

Doctor Who will return for a 10th series on Easter Sunday this year. 

You can check out the show's back catalogue here in hmv's online store.