Jodie’s the new Dr Who
BRITISH actress Jodie Whittaker has been unveiled as the first woman to play Doctor Who, telling fans of the cult BBC science fiction series they should “not be scared by my gender”.
The 35-year-old, who starred in the British awardwinning drama Broadchurch, will take over from Scottish actor Peter Capaldi as the 13th incarnation of the Time Lord.
Whittaker said “it feels incredible” to take on the role.
“It feels completely overwhelming, as a feminist, as a woman, as an actor, as a human, as someone who wants to continually push themselves and challenge themselves, and not be boxed in by what you’re told you can and can’t be,” she said.
Roger Reynolds of the Doctor Who Club of Australia welcomed Whittaker in the role and said fans who criticised it were trying to find defects.
“The storyline has these little plot defects all the time. People who scrutinise it more than I do will find all of them. But that was then and this is now, and maybe the time lords have discovered a way they can do it.
“It will add a completely different dimension and she’ll be brilliant.”
The adventures of the doctor – a time travelling, humanoid alien – have maintained a loyal following since they were first aired in 1963.
Whittaker anticipated some controversy but said viewers didn’t need to worry.
“I want to tell the fans not to be scared by my gender,” she said. “Because this is a really exciting time, and Doctor Who represents everything that’s exciting about change. The fans have lived through so many changes, and this is only a new, different one, not a fearful one,” she added.
Capaldi will leave in the Christmas special by “regenerating” into the new doctor.