Doctor Who: Bond actor a favorite to replace Peter Capaldi

U.K.-based bookmakers William Hill have made Bond actor Ben Whishaw the favorite to replace Peter Capaldi in the long-running science fiction show Doctor Who. The company is offering odds of 6/1 that the Skyfall star will become the next Doctor, a two-hearted alien who periodically changes his physical form.

Capaldi announced Monday that he would leave the show later this year. BBC America has confirmed that the Doctor’s “regeneration” would occur on the special Christmas episode.

Whishaw plays the character of armaments expert Q in the Bond franchise. His other credits include Cloud Atlas, the Oscar-nominated The Lobster, and voicing the role of the titular bear in 2014’s Paddington, which featured Capaldi in its cast.

As for other possible candidates to replace the Scottish actor, William Hill is offering odds on comic actor Richard Ayoade (8/1), Whishaw’s fellow Bond franchise veteran Rory Kinnear (8/1), and Harry Potter grad Rupert Grint (8/1).

The company is also allowing gamblers to bet on the possibility that new showrunner Chris Chibnall might break with tradition and cast an actress in the role, offering odds of 6/1 that the next Doctor will be played by a woman and odds of 20/1 odds on Olivia Colman and Billie Piper, the latter of whom played the Doctor’s “companion” when the show returned after a lengthy hiatus in 2005.

The new season of Doctor Who premieres on BBC America on April 15.