Doctor Who's Matt Smith tips Notting Hill star to replace Jodie Whittaker

Doctor Who's Matt Smith has given his own suggestion as to who should replace Jodie Whittaker as the next Doctor and he may as well have pulled it out of the Sorting Hat.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Smith was asked who should lead the next series, to which he responded: "You know who I think would be a brilliant Doctor Who… Rhys Ifans. Rhys would be sort of cool.

"I don't know if we've had a Welshman yet. I'm backing Rhys!"

Ifans is not new to big franchises. Although he is best know for his role as Hugh Grant's kooky housemate in Notting Hill, he will also be familiar to Harry Potter fans for his role as Luna Lovegood's father, Xenophilius in Deathly Hallows Part 1.

Marvel fans, however, will likely know him as Dr Curt Connors, aka The Lizard, in The Amazing Spider-Man.

While the actor will next be seen later this year in The King’s Man, alongside Stanley Tucci, Ralph Fiennes and Colin Firth and The Phantom of the Open, with Mark Rylance and Sally Hawkins, both projects have wrapped filming so Ifans' schedule might be clear enough to take on a new role.

Smith – who played the Eleventh Doctor on the series – will next be seen in the upcoming psychological horror Last Night in Soho alongside Anya Taylor-Joy and Thomasin McKenzie.

Whittaker, who was the first woman to take on the titular role in the iconic BBC sci-fi series, will bow out together with its showrunner Chris Chibnall at the end of the current series.

Whittaker and Chibnall will leave in a trio of specials, culminating in a final feature-length adventure to air in autumn 2022 as part of the BBC’s centenary celebrations.

Since the announcement, fans' predictions and bookies' speculations for the next incarnation of the Time Lord have ranged from Richard Ayoade and Olly Alexander to Michaela Coel.

We'll have to wait and see whether having a former Doctor vouching for him will push Ifans ahead in this fierce competition.

Doctor Who airs on BBC One in the UK. In the US, the show airs on BBC America, with series 1-12 available on HBO Max. Series 13 is due to premiere later this year.

BBC Doctor Who, Series 11 [2018]

£21 at Amazon

BBC Doctor Who - The Collection - Season 26 [Blu-ray] [2019]

£200 at Amazon

Funko Pop! Doctor Who: Thirteenth Doctor Pop! Vinyl Figure

£10 at Pop In A Box

BBC Doctor Who - The Specials [Blu-ray] [2019]

£150 at Amazon

BBC Studios/Silva Screen Records Doctor Who - Series 11 (Original Television Soundtrack) by Segun Akinola

£11 at Amazon

BBC Doctor Who - The Collection - Season 10 [Blu-ray] [2019]

£195 at Amazon

Funko Pop! Doctor Who: Reconnaissance Dalek Pop! Vinyl Figure

£10 at Pop In A Box

BBC Doctor Who - The Faceless Ones [Blu-ray] [2020]

£49 at Amazon

Titan Comics Doctor Who Holiday Special by Jody Houser

Now 45% Off

£8 at Amazon

BBC Doctor Who - The Collection - Season 23 [Blu-ray] [2019]

£78 at Amazon

BBC Doctor Who - The Collection - Season 19 - Ltd Ed Packaging [Blu-ray] [2018]

£290 at Amazon

BBC Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 12

£50 at Amazon

BBC Books Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor by Steven Moffat (Target Collection)

£7 at Amazon

BBC Doctor Who - The Complete Series 11 [Blu-ray] [2018]

£30 at Amazon

BBC Books Doctor Who: TARDIS Type 40 Instruction Manual by Richard Atkinson, Mike Tucker and Gavin Rymill

Now 16% Off

£17 at Amazon

BBC Doctor Who: Thirteenth Doctor Sonic Screwdriver Toy

£30 at Amazon

BBC Doctor Who - Complete Specials (The Next Doctor/ Planet of the Dead/ Waters of Mars & Winter Specials) [DVD]

Now 83% Off

£4 at Amazon

BBC Doctor Who The Complete Series 10 [DVD] [2017]

£18 at Amazon

BBC Doctor Who The Macra Terror [Blu-Ray] [2019]

Now 16% Off

£10 at Amazon

BBC Doctor Who: Thirteenth Doctor action figure

£20 at Amazon

BBC Books Doctor Who: The Good Doctor by Juno Dawson

Now 44% Off

£5 at Amazon

BBC Books Doctor Who: Rose by Russell T Davies (Target Collection)

Now 11% Off

£10 at Amazon

BBC Doctor Who - The Complete Ninth Series [Blu-ray] [Region Free]

£20 at Amazon

BBC Doctor Who – The Complete Eighth Series [Blu-ray] [2014] [Region Free]

£16 at Amazon

BBC Doctor Who - The Complete Series 5 [Blu-ray] [Region Free]

£16 at Amazon