"When the BBC decided to bring Doctor Who back as a feature film a few years ago, one national newspaper ran a poll to ask its readers who should be the new Doctor, and I topped it"

This quote by Simon Callow is referring to the BBC's decision to restore the popular British sci-fi tv series Doctor Who as a function movie. The national newspaper in question ran a poll to ask its readers who must be the new Doctor, and Simon Callow topped the survey. This recommends that the readers of the newspaper had a strong choice for Simon Callow to take on the function of the brand-new Doctor. This could be due to his previous acting roles, his popularity among the readers, or his capability to bring the character to life. It is likewise possible that the readers of the newspaper had a strong affinity for the Doctor Who series and wanted to see a familiar face take on the function. Whatever the reason, it is clear that the readers of the paper had a strong choice for Simon Callow to be the new Doctor.