Doctor ‘backlash’ critics ‘should shut the hell up’
DOCTOR Who boss Steven Moffat has told critics to “shut the hell up” and stop claiming there is a backlash from fans against the casting of the first female Time Lord.
Broadchurch’s Jodie Whittaker, whose name received mass applause from fans at the annual convention, will become the 13th Time Lord.
Moffat, the outgoing writer and executive producer of the BBC show, blasted journalists who claim fans are revolting against the casting.
“There has been no backlash at all. The story of the moment is that the notionally conservative Doctor Who fandom has utterly embraced that change,” he said. “I wish every single journalist who is writing the alternative would shut the hell up.”
He claimed there is an 80% approval rating for Whittaker on social media.
“Not that I check these things obsessively,” he joked.
The Christmas special will see Capaldi’s Time Lord battle against the regeneration process as he exits the series, Moffat announced. It will also be the last adventure for Potts as Mackie revealed she is also leaving the BBC Wales-produced series.
Yesterday, former Doctor Who star Peter Davison announced he was quitting Twitter after being greeted with “toxicity” over comments suggesting the first female Time Lord would hurt young boys.
The fifth actor to play the Doctor tweeted: “For the record I didn’t say I had doubts about Jodie. I said “she’s a terrific actress and will do a wonderful job and we need to open it... up”. I also urged uncertain fans to be supportive about change. It was a caveat about role models in an otherwise positive answer. As a viewer, I kind of like the idea of the Doctor as a boy but then maybe I’m an old-fashioned dinosaur, who knows?”
His successor in the role, Colin Baker, hit back, saying: “They’ve had 50 years of having a role model. So sorry Peter, you’re talking rubbish there – absolute rubbish.”