HE denied the rumour last year after speculation in the tabloids.
And James Nesbitt again ruled it out when asked this afternoon if he was the next Doctor Who.
“Definitely not. No.”
But would he like to play a guest role?
“No. I don’t know if they were ever interested in me as Doctor Who.
“The problem is, you kind of read these things in the paper and you begin to believe them.
“I’m the last person that should believe everything I read in the papers, and yet I do.
“No, I couldn’t follow Chris or David. I thought they were both brilliant.
“But also it’s not really something that was my…I didn’t really grow up with it.
“Although my kids love it now.

“But I couldn’t follow David Tennant. He’s too good.
“That would be career suicide, following David Tennant in anything. He’s so good.”
He was speaking at the London press launch for a new three-part ITV1 thriller called Midnight Man.
Due on screen later this spring, it stars James as…a journalist.
He can next be seen as Pontius Pilate in BBC1’s The Passion, which begins this Sunday.
It appears there’s a question mark over the return of one of his favourite characters – undercover cop Tommy Murphy (pictured).
Asked if Murphy’s Law would be coming back to BBC1, James replied: “Not sure.
“Not as far as I know. Not at the minute, I would say.
“But I’m not sure, actually.”
Did he think Murphy’s Law had run its course?
“I don’t think so.”
So are the BBC not keen?
“I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Murphy’s Law: James Nesbitt
Nesbitt’s Undercover And In Trouble