I was in awe when I worked with Stephen Fry, admits Whittaker
DOCTOR WHO star Jodie Whittaker revealed she “fangirled” over Stephen Fry, when the actor and comedian filmed his guest appearance on the show.
Whittaker, from Skelmanthorpe, near Huddersfield, will return for her second season playing the Time Lord, when the first episode of Doctor Who’s 12th series airs on New Year’s Day.
The BBC has already promised the return of fan-favourite monsters, including the Judoon and Cybermen, while Fry and Sir Lenny Henry are among the guest stars.
Whittaker, the 13th Doctor and first woman in the role, said she “fangirled” over Fry, who she first met when they worked together on 2007 comedy St Trinian’s.
She said: “I’m really in awe of someone who can offer themselves up to the world in a brutally honest and unapologetically
intelligent and forward thinking way.
“I think we should celebrate brains like that.
“For anyone who considers themselves to be interested in learning, just some of his vocabulary was beautiful, but not excluding.
“I think he’s an inclusive thinker and I think for Doctor Who that’s perfect, but for me to be around him at 37, I was really in awe.
“I was just beyond excited to work with him and he was lovely and everything you’d want him to be.”
Whittaker, whose other TV roles include Black Mirror and Broadchurch, took over as the Doctor in 2017, succeeding Peter Capaldi.
The move reunited her with the show’s executive producer Chris Chibnall, who she worked with on drama Broadchurch.
She said being the first female Doctor is “what dreams are made of really”.
The new series of Doctor Who will include the return of companions Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill.
Doctor Who: Spyfall will be broadcast on BBC One on New Year’s Day.