Michael Sheen voted most popular actor to replace Jodie Whittaker on Doctor Who

The Quiz star topped a RadioTimes.com poll of more than 10,000 people, receiving 20 per cent of the votes.

RadioTimes.com editorial director Tim Glanfield said: “Doctor Who’s lead role is one of the most iconic and coveted in British television and therefore any vacancy creates a huge amount of speculation amongst fans and across the TV industry.

“Clearly Michael Sheen is a popular choice, and no one can fault his brilliant acting prowess – but with a long history of secrecy and surprises at Doctor Who HQ when it comes to casting, we might have a bit of a wait until we find out who will be flying the Tardis next.”

Actor, comedian and director Richard Ayoade came second with 15 per cent of the vote.

Holby City’s Jo Martin was third with 11 per cent, followed by Fleabag star Andrew Scott with 7 per cent.

Merlin stars Colin Morgan and Alexander Vlahos were fifth and sixth respectively after they each received 6 per cent of the votes.

James Bond actor Ben Whishaw was seventh with 5 per cent, following by It’s A Sin’s Olly Alexander, from Harrogate, in eighth with 4 per cent.

Trainspotting co-stars Jonny Lee Miller and Kelly Macdonald rounded out the top 10, with 3 per cent of the votes for Elementary actor Miller and 2 per cent for Macdonald, who was most recently seen in Line Of Duty.

It was announced last month that Whittaker will leave the long-running BBC sci-fi drama next year.

She took over the Tardis in 2017 as the first female Doctor.

Whittaker will star in her final series of Doctor Who later this year before leaving with a trio of specials in 2022.