Russell T Davies wishes Judi Dench was first female Doctor

ussell T Davies wishes he\'d made Dame Judi Dench the first female Time Lord on \'Doctor Who\'.

The sci-fi show\'s former showrunner regrets not taking the chance to have a big name appear as the iconic character in 2008\'s \'The Stolen Earth\', when star David Tennant\'s incarnation was shot by a Dalek and started to regenerate before using a severed hand to heal his wounds but retain his body.

During a watchalong this week, Russell tweeted: "If I had my time again... I\'d have MILKED that. I\'d have cast a whole new Doctor, a superstar for ONE scene.

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"Ian McKellen! Judi Dench! Have them run around the Tardis. Then discover the hand, and regenerate back. IMAGINE!! Why didn\'t I?! (sic)"

If the 59-year-old writer had introduced Judi - even as a brief cameo - she would have become the first female Doctor nine years before Jodie Whittaker made history with the role.

The \'Stolen Earth\' episode was special for Whovians as several companions - including Captain Jack (John Barrowman), Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) and Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) - all appeared, and Russell even thought about bringing back a character from the show\'s classic era.

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He explained: "This story was planned a long way in advance, and as proof of that... All sorts of characters could have been in Harriet\'s place, running the Subway Network!

"I spent a long time thinking it could be Elton Pope from Love & Monsters, or I even toyed with an old Doctor Who companion appearing out of the blue.

"Polly running it from India! Or Tegan! Imagine. (sic)"

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Instead, Harriet Jones (Penelope Wilton) led the network, which marked her first appearance since the first series of the show\'s revival in which she appeared opposite Christopher Eccleston\'s Ninth Doctor.