Who would outgoing producer Russell T. Davies cast as the next Doctor?

If he were making the decision, Davies said he’s like to see actor Russell Tovey in the role of the eleventh Doctor.  Tovey appeared in last year’s Christmas special, “Voyage of the Damned” as Midshipment Frame and make a definite impression on Davies.

In a series of e-mails exchanged with the Times writer Benjamin Cook, Davies called Tovey, “my favourite casting of the lot, because he’s going to be huge, that man. He’s amazing. I think I’d make him the Eleventh Doctor.”

The e-mail conversations are part of a behind the scenes look at Davies tenure as producer of “Doctor Who.” In the first part of a series of articles, Davies detailed how he writes for the show, where he gets his ideas and just a few of the complications in running the BBC’s franchise hit series. The series is intended as a preview of Davies upcoming behind-the-scenes book, “Doctor Who: A Writer’s Tale” about his time as the producer of “Doctor Who.”

Several points of interest to fans may include the fact that American actor Dennis Hopper was in consideration for a role in “Voyage of the Damned” last year. There was interest from Hopper, but the actor wasn’t able to commit to the filming schedule needed for the story. Another is the behind the scenes look at how the BBC tried to keep Davies in the role of producer for another season.

“Jane Tranter [BBC One Controller of Fiction] came to Cardiff this afternoon for a read-through, but then she asked if she could come round my flat tonight, with Julie, for “a chat”, which they did. The chat was to formally convey from the Sixth Floor of the BBC that they want me to stay for a fifth series,” he said. “The three of us have talked about this before, loads of times, but Jane felt that she’d never really been “offcial” about it. I still said no. It’s not about the money, and Jane and Julie both know that.”

Davies said the offer never really tempted him “because way back, around the time that we filmed Doomsday, we promised this course of action to David. And to each other. We decided that we’d have a fourth series (David’s third), with a big ending, after which we’d take the show off air, just for a short while, apart from the odd special, so that we could have a breather, and a new production team could settle in, find its feet, and prepare for Series Five.”

Davies did say that the meeting with BBC Controller Peter Fincham on his decision to step aside was “very awkward,” adding “Mind you, it did strike me that he has no idea how much work Doctor Who actually is, how much work I actually do, and absolutely no awareness of the fact that so many of us have had to up sticks and live in Cardiff for years on bloody end. Instead, he just supports us with money and publicity and trust and… oh, I shouldn’t complain, should I? ”

And while fans are looking forward to this year’s Christmas special with the return of the Cybermen, it could have been radically different.

“I was in the shower on Saturday morning (you may avert your eyes), thinking about how much I’d enjoyed that last Harry Potter book, how I’d love to write something like that, remembering that, back in 2004, I asked J.K.Rowling to write an episode of Doctor Who, though she politely declined, and reflecting that we can’t possibly get someone to star in next year’s Christmas Special who’s as famous as Kylie… when all those things coalesced,” he said.

“BAM! I thought, don’t ask J.K. to write a Doctor Who, ask her to be in a Doctor Who! Imagine it. A cold Edinburgh Christmas Eve. J.K. Rowling walking through the snow, pursued by a journalist. “What are you going to write after Harry Potter?’ Later, J.K. sits down to write. At the same time, a Space Bug, probably put there by the Rita Skeeter-type journalist [a character in Harry Potter], leaps on to her back. ZAP! J.K.’s imagination becomes real! A world of Victorian magic replaces the present-day world. The Doctor arrives and has to battle through a world of witches and wizards, with wands and spells and CGI wonders, to reach J.K. Rowling at the heart of it all.”

Current Doctor David Tennant expressed concern about the idea, saying that it could too easily be taken as a “spoof.”  At this point, Davies debated whether to try and win Tennant over or just go with the return of the Cybermen.  In the end, the metal monsters won out and the idea of Rowling was abandoned.

“Doctor Who” will return at Christmas with a holiday special and then have four specials in 2009 before the fifth series kicks off in 2010.