Nigerian-Born Actor to become the first black Doctor Who

With the announcement that Matt Smith would be leaving the role of Doctor Who at the end of the year, the hunt is on to find the twelfth Time Lord.

And so far, Nigerian-born British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor has been given 7/1 odds and is the sci-fi fan sites' favourite to fill the role, not to mention becoming the first black Doctor in the show's history. Chiwetel, 35, has already stated that if the series' producers asked him to play the Time Lord, he'd tell them 'yes, of course.'

Asked by Andrew Marr in 2011 whether he'd take on the part, the actor said: 'Yes, of course. It's always good to be asked to come back to London and do great stuff not only in television but in theatre and film too.'

Skybet gave BAFTA-winner Chiwetel, the odds taking into account his stellar history on stage and screen, having starred in films like American Gangster and Love.

But Ejiofor isn't the only star rumoured to be taking on the high-profile job, with Rory Kinnear as the Ladbrokes favourite with odds of 3/1.

Russell Tovey is also a strong contender, whose name was linked to the eleventh Doctor role but obviously the Being Human star lost out to Matt Smith in 2010.