ABOUT TIME!
Jodie Whittaker is the new face of Doctor Who
When Jodie Whittaker was auditioning to become the 13th Doctor Who, the role was such a closely guarded secret that she couldn’t refer to it by name.
With anticipation at fever pitch over who would play the new Time Lord, the 35-year-old Broadchurch star was sworn to silence.
The casting situation was so hush-hush, in fact, that the role – the first time a woman has been chosen to play the iconic Doctor – even had a secret code name.
“In my home and with my agent, it was The Clooney,“tells mum-of-one Jodie, who is married to Hispanic-American actor Christian Contreras.
“Because to me and my husband, George is an iconic guy. And we thought – what’s a really famous, iconic name? It was just fitting.“
Being private is nothing new to Jodie, who employs a similar strategy when it comes to her personal life.
“I don’t really want to talk about relationships because it lets people into stuff,” she asserts. “I’m not on Facebook for that reason. I find it a bit odd that acting comes with people knowing things about you that sometimes only your best mates know. I find it strange that you’re expected to share it with millions of people you’ve never met.“
She did reveal some information about her wedding back in 2009, admitting, “I’m married to Christian – have been for two years – a fact that is probably on Wikipedia, anyway.
“And I’m not going to deny I’m married – I wear a bloody wedding ring after all. We had a big wedding in Arizona – very attention-seeking, big dress, big guest-list kind of wedding.”
They had a daughter in
April 2015, but have never publicly revealed her name. However, the newest Doctor’s fierce privacy doesn’t mean she’s a wallflower.
Born in Skelmanthorpe, West Yorkshire, in 1982, Jodie describes herself as a born extrovert who was destined for the acting world.
“I am a quiet person’s nightmare. The only time I shut up is when I’m reading because I’m a book geek,“she says. “I was the attentionseeking child in class who needed everyone to look at me. Luckily, that got channelled into acting because I would have been terrible at anything else. I would have been a nightmare in any kind of office. I’m quite loud and overconfident.“
Jodie spent a year travelling the world solo and later with a friend, before training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. The place proved fertile ground – she studied alongside Captain America’s Hayley Atwell (35) and Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery (35), as well as her future husband.
After graduating in 2005 with the gold medal for acting, she made her professional debut in the play The Storm at the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. The following year, she made friends with Gemma Arterton (31) after the pair were cast in the BBC’s adaptation of Tess of the D’Urbervilles and both were reunited in St Trinian’s, released in 2007.
That year, she also stood in, at three hours’ notice, for Carey Mulligan (32) in the Royal Court’s production of
The Seagull.
Roles in Return to Cranford, Marchlands and Black Mirror followed, among others. But it was after starring in the hit crime drama Broadchurch, alongside the 10th Doctor, David Tennant, that Jodie got her big break, playing
Beth Latimer, the mother of murdered boy Danny.
The show was a huge success, winning several BAFTAs, and was praised by critics for its gripping story lines, which the production team – including Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall – went to great lengths to keep secret.
Chris has since become the new executive producer and head writer of Doctor Who – and ultimately, the man who decided to cast the first female Doctor. The gender switch has ruffled feathers among some purist fans, while many others have welcomed the decision. But the Doctor Who boss insists it was a no-brainer.
“I always knew I wanted the 13th Doctor to be a woman and we’re thrilled to have secured our number-one choice,“he insists. “Her audition for The Doctor blew us all away.
“Jodie is an in-demand, funny, inspiring, super-smart force of nature, and will bring loads of wit, strength and warmth to the role.“
And Jodie is equally as thrilled – and finally, very proud to go public.
“It feels 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 tells.
“It feels incredible. Because this is a really exciting time and Doctor Who represents everything that’s exciting about change,” she says.
“The fans have lived through so many changes and this is only a new, different one, not a fearful one.“