Doctor Who: Role was offered to black actor, says Steven Moffat

Pearl Mackie was recently cast as the Doctor's companion

The role of Doctor Who was previously offered to a black actor, executive producer Steven Moffat has revealed.

Steven Moffat will step down as executive producer at the end of next year's series

 But he told the show's official magazine that "for various reasons, it didn't work out". Moffat said the show had "no excuse" not to feature a more diverse cast, adding it would be "amazing" for it to have two non-white lead actors.


Pearl Mackie, whose father is from the West Indies, was recently cast as the Doctor's companion. "We decided that the new companion was going to be non-white, and that was an absolute decision, because we need to do better on that. We just have to," Moffat said.

"I don't mean that we've done terribly - our guest casts are among the most diverse on television - but I feel as though I could have done better overall." Moffat did not reveal name of the actor who had been approached to play the Doctor.

Prior to the casting of Peter Capaldi in 2013, there had been calls for a black actor to take on the role.