Whoopi Goldberg has revealed she once pitched the idea of being the first female Time Lord on Doctor Who, but was rejected. 

The Hollywood legend wanted to take the lead in an American version of the BBC sci-fi series, long before Jodie Whittaker was announced as the first woman to take on the role last year. 

Speaking on former Doctor David Tennant’s podcast, Whoopi said: “I wanted to be the first female Doctor… the American version of Doctor Who ends up in New York and it’s me.

“We don’t have a Doctor Who,” she continued. “We don’t have that character who is travelling through dimension and time, and being an observer – ­sometimes a hindrance, sometimes a help. The idea of that just so made me happy.”

Revealing bosses turned down her request, she added: “They were like ‘Um no.’ I was like, ‘OK, I’m cool. I ­understand.’”

Whoopi has previously been vocal about her love of Doctor Who, revealing she was hoping to be asked to make a cameo in the series. 

She said in 2017: “I always hope when I come to England the BBC will say, ‘Hey we want you to do something.’ I would love that.

“You have a different quality now on television. The way you guys have always done shows has always been the smartest and we’ve finally just figured it out”, the actress explained.

“I like the idea of doing things the way y’all do them, you do some really fun stuff like Black Mirror or, you know, I’m still dying to do Doctor Who.”