The news that Jodie Whittaker had been cast as Doctor Who’s next lead swept round the world this summer, with the first female Doctor making headlines and charging conversations across the globe.

However, one fairly important figure from the sci-fi series’ past had actually missed the news entirely, with former Who star Bernard Cribbins (who played Wilfred Mott, grandfather to Catherine Tate’s Donna Noble from 2007-2010) revealing at an MCM London comic-con panel earlier today that he was none the wiser about the next Doctor.

“The next Doctor Who? I haven’t heard anything about this,” Cribbins told the crowd. “Truly, I didn’t know anything about it. I thought they were going to have a lady, weren’t they?

“They are having one? You see I’m out of touch with it really.”

Still, after learning of Whittaker’s involvement Cribbins was full of praise, suggesting (as many others have before him) that the advent of a female Doctor can help reinvent the series for a new generation.

“I think it’s good – I think it’s great that a lady’s gonna do it,” the 88-year-old said. “I really do.

“Because we’ve had a lot of gentlemen and they’ve all been successful, but you know – I think a lady might give it another kick again. Great. Super.”

And in fact, Cribbins was so keen on the idea that he thought it might even be a way to get his character Wilf back in the action…

“He was a very caring, kind, compassionate man, you know,” Cribbins said of Wilf, who appeared sporadically in the series before becoming a full companion for David Tennant’s final two-part episode The End of Time. “I loved him, he was great.

“I’d love to do Wilf again. Somebody have a word, I’ll be on to look after that young lady who’s about to start!”

Alas, it seems like Jodie Whittaker’s Tardis is quite full already, but you never know – MAYBE they could squeeze Wilf in for a quick reunion.

Doctor Who returns to BBC1 this Christmas