Doctor Who names first female lead
British actress Jodie Whittaker was announced Sunday as the next star of the long-running science-fiction series Doctor Who — the first woman to take a role that has been played by a dozen men over six decades.
Whittaker, best known for playing the mother of a murdered boy in detective drama Broadchurch, will replace Scottish actor Peter Capaldi at the end of the year, the BBC said.
Whittaker is the 13th official incarnation of the Doctor, a galaxy-hopping Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who travels in the Tardis, a time machine shaped like an oldfashioned British police telephone booth.
In a testament to the place Doctor Who holds in Britain’s cultural life, the revelation was made on live television after the Wimbledon men’s tennis final. Speculation had been mounting that a woman would get the role, generating excitement from some fans and opposition from others who feel that the character has been established as male.
Whittaker, 35, has worked extensively in British television and film. On the big screen, she played Anne Hathaway’s best friend in romantic drama One Day and battled aliens in Attack the Block.