Sir Steve Redgrave may have won gold medals at five Olympics in a row but now he might face an entirely different challenge – battling Daleks and Cybermen on Doctor Who.

Yep, the sports legend has revealed that he is ready to star in Doctor Who after years of pestering by BBC bosses.

‘I have been offered [to appear] a few times before to do a walk-on part for Doctor Who,’ said Steve, before admitting that he reckons now is the time.

‘I couldn’t make it happen on those occasions but I am ready to do it now,’ he told The Sun.

His announcement comes after Beeb bosses reportedly tried for years to bag the sportsman, with a source suggesting that ‘bosses are always keen to spice up the series by featuring the odd famous face.

‘And if you’re going for a sporting great, they don’t come much bigger than Sir Steve.’

Although it’s unknown what or who Steve could play in the sci-fi drama, we do know one thing – he can row hella quick so those space monsters better watch out.

This series of Doctor Who has already been breaking a tonne of new ground.

In upcoming episode Thin Ice, the Time Lord – played by Peter Capaldi – and sidekick Bill – played by Pearl Mackie – will explore whitewashing and racism in 1800s London.

Showrunner Steven Moffat told TV Guide he had ‘no alternative’ but to explore issues of race because ‘history is always white washed’.

He added: ‘How do we manage to have a diverse cast despite that? The way that we did it was … [to just] say that you will see people of different colours there.

‘In fact, there were. People all didn’t arrive in the twinkle of an eye. It is bending history slightly, but in a progressive and useful way.’

He added: ‘Also, it wouldn’t be a pleasant place for [Bill] in several respects. Taking that on is just respectful of the audience really.

‘It’s a chance to — I’m always reluctant to sound so pious and so do-gooding and all of that.

‘It’s useful that these things are talked about. The evil in Doctor Who can sometimes be the evil in our real world, too.’

Doctor Who is on BBC One on Saturdays at 7.20pm.

Ed: The Gallifreyan Newsroom would like to stress that we have not had any official announcement from the BBC about this story and as such we would urge caution.