John Bishop admits 'cardinal sin' slip-up after he was cast in 'Doctor Who'

Watch: John Bishop joins the cast of Doctor Who

John Bishop has confessed he made a slip-up after his Doctor Who casting that was described by the BBC as "the cardinal sin".

The 54-year-old comedian was announced as the Doctor's new companion after the New Year's Day special episode Revolution of the Daleks featured the exit of Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole.

Read more: Doctor Who cut to eight episodes for 13th series

Bishop's character — who is a complete secret other than the name Dan — will join Mandip Gill's Yaz as one of the companions of Jodie Whittaker's time-traveller.

But the star revealed on Friday's episode of The Graham Norton Show that he had already made a faux pas when it comes to the show's renowned secrecy.

The blooper came while Bishop was taking part in a Q&A over Zoom with drama students in Liverpool, focusing on acting and stand-up comedy.

He said: "One of the questions was: 'Can you tell us anything about your character in Doctor Who?' you know, 'where does he come from?'"

Read more: John Bishop says coronavirus is worst illness he has ever had

Bishop thought nothing of answering the question in vague terms, making a self-deprecating reference to his distinctive accent.

"I went: 'Well, where do you think he comes from? Have a guess!'," said the comedian.

"You know what I mean, I'm not Tom Cruise. I can act as long as the character happens to look and sound a lot like me."

Despite the rather small revelation that Bishop would be using his normal accent, this sparked feverish speculation about the show's new era unfolding in Liverpool.

Bishop added: "Then the BBC phoned me up and said: 'You've broke the cardinal sin. You've told them something about Doctor Who'."

Read more: Jodie Whittaker thought she was doing Doctor Who wrong

The 13th series of the revived run of Doctor Who is due to air later in 2021, having begun shooting in November last year.

Rumours abound that this will be Jodie Whittaker's final run in the central role, though the BBC has refused to comment on her future.

Watch: Jodie Whittaker hasn't looked at another role since Doctor Who