You’ll Never Walk Alone star dies aged 78
JODIE Whittaker is set to hang up her sonic screwdriver at the end of the next Doctor Who series, when she will regenerate into the 14th Time Lord.
The Huddersfield actress, 38, has told bosses she intends to keep to the traditional “three years and out” rule upheld by the majority of her predecessors – which sees most Doctors quit the TARDIS after completing their third full series.
Insiders say that Jodie, the first female ever cast as the Doctor who was born and raised in Skelmanthorpe, is keen to take on other roles from later this year. Filming on the current run of the BBC scifi series is due to finish this summer and it will air in the autumn.
One source revealed that while she will follow her “fam” members Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole out the door later this year, showrunner Chris Chibnall remain.
The insider said: “It’s all very hushhush but it is known on set that Jodie is leaving and they are gearing up for a regeneration. Her departure is top secret but at some point over the coming months the arrival of the 14th Doctor will need to be filmed. It’s very exciting.”
Other Doctors to leave after three runs include William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Peter Davison, Sylvester McCoy, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi. David Tennant also did three
will series, but extended his tenure with some specials.
BBC bosses have already announced that the series which started filming in November has been cut to eight episodes because of Covid restrictions slowing down the production.
Jodie, who previously starred in TV thriller Broadchurch and medical drama Trust Me, will appear in all eight.
Announcing that she was staying on for her third run as the time-traveller from Gallifrey last January, Jodie gushed: “I absolutely adore it. At some point, these shoes are going to be handed on, but it’s not yet. I’m clinging on tight.” Her departure later this year is certain to be emotional.
“If I even think about leaving, it makes me cry,” she previously admitted.
“When it happens, I can pre-empt that it will be my most devastating moment.”
Tennant, who quit in 2008, has told how the most gut-wrenching scenes he filmed as the Doctor were for his exit.
Mum-of-one Jodie was announced as the 13th Doctor in July 2017 and made her debut in the closing scenes of the Christmas special when she regenerated from Capaldi, who was shot by Cybermen.
She will have spent nearly five years in the role once her final series airs at the end of this year, having kept her casting secret for many weeks.
Last night a BBC spokeswoman declined to comment.
It’s all hush-hush but it is known on set that Jodie is leaving and they are gearing up for a regeneration.
GERRY and the Pacemakers star Gerry Marsden, singer of You’ll Never Walk Alone, has died at the age of 78.
The lead singer of the sixties band, who found fame in the Merseybeat scene, died after a short illness.
The band’s hits also included Ferry Cross The Mersey, while their version of You’ll Never Walk Alone became a football anthem for Marsden’s home club of Liverpool.
His friend, broadcaster Pete Price, wrote on Instagram: “It’s with a very heavy heart, after speaking to the family, that I have to tell you the legendary Gerry Marsden MBE... has sadly passed away.
“I’m sending all the love in the world to Pauline and his family. You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
He said Marsden suffered “a short illness which was an infection in his heart”.
You’ll Never Walk Alone enjoyed a resurgence during the pandemic after a cover of the song, featuring Captain Sir Tom Moore, reached number one in the UK singles chart.
In April this year, Marsden recorded a new version of the band’s hit alongside a music video, which featured Marsden and a number of messages about