Pass the sonic screwdriver - Whovians have made their feelings very clear about the latest rumours of the choice for the new Doctor Who - former My Family and Death in Paradise actor Kris Marshall.  

The Sun newspaper claims that the 44-year-old actor has already started filming the new series of the BBC show and will take over from current Doctor Who, Peter Capaldi, when he regenerates at the end of the current series, which began last Saturday.

However, fans have been busy slamming the rumour with one Twitter user posting, "please please please don't cast kris marshall as the doctor we don't need another weird young doctor gimme a woman or another older doctor."

Peter Capaldi and Pearl Mackie

Another less than impressed Whovian said: "I just remember Kris Marshall as the dopey big brother on My Family, so my hope for Doctor Who diminishes (if rumours are true)."

There had been a growing clamour for the BBC to cast the first ever female Doctor Who, but the broadcaster has ruled this out, according to a source quoted by The Sun, who said: "They won’t risk a woman Doctor. They want a David Tennant type."

Tennant, who currently stars in hit ITV drama Broadchurch, was arguably the most popular Doctor Who since the show was rebooted by the BBC in 2005.

Bookies Ladbrokes say they have stopped taking bets on Marshall being the new Doctor because of the amount of punters taking a flutter on him.

However, the BBC has denied the new casting claims and has insisted that no decision has been made on who will take on the coveted role of the centuries-old Time Lord.

Rumours that Marshall, who also starred in the Richard Curtis film Love Actually, would be behind the controls of the Tardis began when Capaldi announced his decision to quit at the same time Marshall left his role as DI Humphrey Goodmanin BBC crime drama Death in Paradise.

Richard Ayoade, David Harewood and Miranda Hart were previously rumoured to be in the running to play the role.

Recently, Pearl Mackie, who plays Bill Potts in the upcoming series of Doctor Who, says the fact that her character is openly gay was long overdue in the series. 

In other Who news, the Doctor's trusty multi-purpose tool and talisman the Sonic Screwdriver has made it into the new edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. 

The new blog entry on the OED website says it's an "electronic device which uses sound waves to perform various mechanical and technical functions".

Other words from Doctor Who which have made it into the dictionary are Tardis, Dalek and Cyberman.