JODIE’S TIME & PLACE
Doctor Who’s Kiwi connection
Her Kiwi connection revealed
Landing the role of Doctor Who is, by far, Jodie Whittaker’s biggest break yet. Even more momentous, it’s the first time a woman has ever played the Time Lord in the 55-year history of the iconic British show. It’s quite a coup – and perhaps a sign of the times.
“Being the first woman to play Doctor Who is exciting,” says Jodie (36). “I’m now part of a movement which will potentially have a big impact on the future. There’s an important barrier to break down.”
Jodie’s casting is apt, given it’s exactly 100 years since the Suffragettes fought and won the right for women to vote in Britain. It seems even more prescient following the sweeping changes in the film and television industries in the wake of the allegations against big Hollywood power players such as Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby – and the #MeToo movement, which emerged in response.
“It does feel timely, especially with all the things to do with #MeToo – the unacceptable treatment of women within the industry and all the inequality in the workplace,” Jodie acknowledges.
“But I think it’s important to realise that my casting happened before all those horrific revelations surfaced. So what I’m most excited about in being the first female Doctor Who is our role models no longer have to look or be the same as before.
“I think that’s important. When I was growing up, none of my heroes were played by women, but now they can be. So for me, casting a woman as Doctor Who isn’t something you can argue with – it’s part of a progression that should be reflected on screen.”
However, being the first woman to play this iconic character has also been daunting, Jodie admits, because it’s thrust her into the spotlight and propelled her to superstardom.
“Yeah, you don’t make a decision like this lightly because you’re not just making it for yourself,” Jodie says. “I have a responsibility to my family, my friends and the fans, so it had to be right. I was aware that taking on this role would take things to a whole different level for me and everyone around me.
“Going on holiday will be a different thing now and I can’t just nip to the shops in my pyjamas any more!
“But saying that, it wasn’t exactly an agonising decision in the end. I certainly don’t think my nearest and dearest questioned it because as an actor, why wouldn’t I want to play one of the ultimate roles in the acting world, which Doctor Who undoubtedly is?
“Also, I’ve been in this industry long enough, and have enough experience of being recognised, to know my feelings towards fame and not be confused by it or let it go to my head,” she says.
In fact, one of the other key reasons why Jodie jumped at the role is because it’s one that all her friends and family can watch her play – including her three-year-old daughter.
“What’s particularly exciting for me is being in something which the entire family can sit down and watch together,” she says. “That hasn’t always been the case with the things I’ve done, like Broadchurch, because child death isn’t something that’s emotionally appropriate for the whole family to watch.
“But Doctor Who is for everyone – it transcends age and culture, and there are fans from every generation, all over the world.
“Even my husband, who’s American, gets the show and is a fan. Actually, quite a lot of my American family are ‘Whovians’ – as are my nephews and many of my friends. That really surprised me because I didn’t realise how many close friends were into it until I got the part and we started having conversations about it.
“But I think that’s one of the things that’s special about Doctor Who – it’s so big and so loved that when you’re a part of this world, you feel like you’re a member of one big family. It means that wherever I go, now or in the future, there will be fans of the show wanting to talk to me.”
Jodie admits that’s already been the case with her Kiwi Doctor Who fans, who’ve been intrigued by her middle name being revealed as “Auckland”. What’s the story behind that?
“It’s my mum’s maiden name, but no-one knows where it came from,” explains Jodie. “There are a few people in Yorkshire, where I’m from, who have that surname, but it
WHAT’S UP, DOC? OH, JUST THE FIRST-EVER FEMALE TIME LORD! ‘ I’m now part of a movement which will potentially have a big impact on the future.’
isn’t common throughout the UK – outside of Yorkshire
I’ve never met anyone else with the surname Auckland. As for New Zealand, there’s no direct connection – that I know of – between my family and there.”
However, Jodie reveals she does have a very strong connection of her own to New Zealand, having travelled around the whole of the country for three months during her gap year, when she was 18.
“Oh, my God, it was amazing, just the best time I’ve ever had,” she recalls, grinning excitedly.
“It was an extraordinary few months. I spent Christmas
Day in Rarotonga and then flew into Auckland, did the jump off the Sky Tower, then spent New Year’s Eve in the
Bay of Islands, where I watched Coldplay perform at this cute little music festival there. It was just incredible.
“I skydived, hitchhiked around the South Island, stayed in Haast and at Franz Joseph Glacier, which was breathtaking. Then I hired a van with a load of English backpackers and went everywhere. It was amazing. We walked around Taupo, climbed Mount Tarawera and did the scree run into the crater, which was brilliant.
God, I miss it!”
Perhaps Jodie should try some sneaky time travel in Doctor Who’s Tardis to retrace her steps and do a bit more exploring Down Under?
“Oh, wow, that would be brilliant,” she shrieks at the prospect of touching down again in Aotearoa. “I’d love to get back there – I’ll have to go back! Yeah, maybe we could write that into an episode?”