Richard Griffiths For the Next Doctor

Can’t imagine Harry Potter’s Mr. Dursley as the Doctor? It almost happened. Twice.

The BBC Archives has released a photo slideshow detailing all of the actors in consideration for the role of the Doctor, from the very first to the eighth. The slideshow is a great trip through the what-if. The aforementioned Tony Award and Laurence Olivier Award-winning Richard Griffiths was first considered for the role during the hunt for Tom Baker’s successor and again for a pre-cancellation Eighth Doctor.

The site also has a gallery of the previous roles for all of the actors who have gone on to play the Doctor. Patrick Troughton’s first photo in the gallery brings to mind the Ninth Doctor, in particular.