Although his appearances in Bridgerton and Evil made him a household name, Russell T Davies hopes to bring Jonathan Bailey into Doctor Who in an entirely new role. Before joining the Netflix period drama as Anthony Bridgerton, Bailey played Psi in Doctor Who Season 8 Episode, Time Heistalongside Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor and Jenna Coleman's Clara Oswald. At the time of writing, Bailey had appeared on the big screen as Prince Fiyero in Evilthe superficial student that Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba encounters in her studies at Shiz University.
Recently, Davies revealed the Screen Vent what he hopes to bring Bailey back to the Whoniverse after recruiting Bridgerton co-star Nicola Coughlan will star Doctor Who is it 2024 Christmas Special. Highlighting Adjoa Adoh's dual roles in Whoniverse as a precedent for bringing back multiple actors Davies shared that he hopes to encourage Bailey to return after spending brief time with the season 14 guest star and Bridgerton Queen Charlotte actress Golda Rosheuval:
We had a lot with Adjoa Andoh. We met Golda Rosheuvel the other day at the theater. Jonathan Bailey was in it. I would bring Jonathan Bailey back any day.
Additionally, Davies expressed that he would like to recruit anyone from the Netflix series to appear during the Time Lord's journey. Check out Davies' statement below:
We use it a lot, but yeah, anyone who was on that show is good news, really, so yeah.
What Davies' Response Means for Doctor Who's Future
There are few restrictions stopping actors from returning to the Whoniverse
It would be difficult to imagine a series wanting to recruit actors for multiple on-screen roles for no reason. However, without a doubt, Doctor Who often decided to ignore such restriction as classical era actors such as Julian Glover and Colin Baker played various characters, the latter even playing the Sixth Doctor. This has continued into the modern era, as Peter Capaldi, Freeman Agyman and Eve Myles have been given reasons and links between their dual roles. Others, like Karen Gillan and David Bradley, were cast in major roles after their cameos.
This disrespect remains true in Davies' new era. Indira Varma returned to Doctor Who in a new role after appearing in the spin-off Torchwhile season 14 Varada Sethu is expected to reappear in Doctor Who season 15 as new companion Belinda after impressing Davies during production. Additionally, Davies has also cast Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Russell Tovey in lead roles in the upcoming spin-off The war between land and sea. As such, it's evident that the showrunner is focused on performance over tradition in his new tenure.
Our thoughts on Bailey's hope-raising doctor
The actor may have some time for the Whoniverse
While EvilThe box office performance is a promising sign for Bailey's future, the star is already set for more success in 2025 with Evil: forever and Jurassic World Rebirth. Bailey's busy schedule could mean that her Doctor Who The chances of release are low, but that doesn't mean it can be completely ruled out.
However Doctor WhoThe future of remains uncertain after season 15, until Disney evaluates its performance in 2025, Davies could bring Bailey back to the franchise.
David Tennant returned to play the Fourteenth Doctor in the 2023 60th anniversary special, although he has played roles in Good Omens and Star Wars around the same time. Ncuti Gatwa not only signed on for the series, but was completing the hit Netflix comedy Sex Education but he was also involved with Barbie. This proves that even prominent stars managed to find time to film Doctor Who within their busy schedules. However Doctor WhoThe future of remains uncertain after season 15, until Disney evaluates its performance in 2025, Davies could bring Bailey back to the franchise.