Who gets our vote?
Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill discuss thoughts for next Doctor
Having survived The Flux, The Doctor, Yaz and Dan are back in action this week. This one-off special sees the team facing the dreaded Daleks with guest stars Aisling Bea (from Channel 4 comedy This Way Up), Adjani Salmon (from BBC Two’s Enterprice) and Father Ted’s Pauline McLynn.
We caught up with partners in time Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill, aka The Doctor and Yaz…
Tell us about the special…
Jodie: It’s a really funny episode, actually. There’s a time loop, so there are lots of farce elements, opening doors and not being where you think you are. But the jeopardy level is at 10 continually. We’re stuck in a time loop with Daleks. A nightmare. Mandip: Yaz and The Doctor are together for a lot of the episode, which is great. Jodie: I’m always WhatsApping Chris [Chibnall, the Doctor Who showrunner] complaining when we’re not. How were your guest stars Aisling, Adjani and Pauline? Jodie: Usually, we have more lead characters but this episode was really intimate. It did mean we had three comedians on set, so it was incredibly funny between scenes. Pauline plays a really important part but she did her stuff on a different day, so we didn’t have any interaction. Mandip: We only watch the episodes when they air, so sometimes you’re going, ‘Oh, that’s what they did on my day off.’
What do you think of MP Nick Fletcher saying recently that having a female Doctor has helped undermine male role models?
Jodie: I think it’s on the one hand amusing and on the other unnerving.
As much as I like to think the world revolves around me, I don’t think I have that much control. But there’s a sinister thing for me and that is women being blamed for the actions of men. That is a very dangerous statement. I think women make excellent role models. Someone being replaced isn’t them being taken away. It’s broadening your horizons.
Finally, who should be the next Doctor?
Jodie: Thaddea Graham [who was in the recent Flux series]. When we did the read-through, I texted Mandip and went, ‘She should have been the new Doctor’ Mandip: We were like, ‘You’ve missed a trick!’ Jodie: But the joyous thing is it could be anyone. Mandip: Whoopi Goldberg we know is really into it. She’d be amazing. I’d turn up at the set every day.