Jodie Whittaker
The Doctor Is A Pillar Of Hope!
As DoctorWho makes a return this weekend, the newest Time Lord, Jodie Whittaker, has lots to say about being the first ever female Doctor!
“This is a moment I never thought would happen. As a girl born in the 80s, the Doctor did not look like me. So this is a big moment!”
This will be the 11th season of television’s longest running sci-fi show, which began back in 1963 and fast became a staple in British pop-culture.
As the 13th Doctor in a
long line of male actors, Jodie is enthralled.
“This is a journey you can’t explain. You just have to do this [pinching herself] all the time. It’s just magical!
“Being British, DoctorWho is kind of in the fabric of our childhoods. You might not have sat and watched it, but the Tardis is part of everybody’s vocabulary.
“So, I think actually being the first woman to play the Doctor is incredibly liberating.”
Although there were mixed reactions when Jodie was revealed last summer, she adds with a small lau ugh, “I’m not on so ocial media so I chose to think the rea action was 100 per cent positive and the ere were no ne egative comments!”
It did take some tim me to adjust as she too ok over from the
previous Doctor, Peter Capaldi.
“My first two days shooting, I was in somebody else’s costume. I was on their set and in their Tardis.
“I was nervous to touch anything! I felt very much in someone else’s shoes, which is a wonderful way to kind of start this journey.
“I’ve never shot anything like that – it was brand new. And I know for a fact, speaking to previous Doctors and comparing it to any other job I’ve done, this can’t compare!”
When asked which Doctor she would take with her on a trip in the Tardis, Jodie jumped straight to David Tennant, who was hugely supportive and gave her some very sound advice before she started filming.
“I asked him about a million questions and all I remember him saying was, ‘This is the most amazing thing that can happen to you and there’s only a few of us who know how it feels.’
“I knew being the first female, it was going to come with extra responsibility. But it’s incredibly inclusive and it immediately felt like this huge family that you want to be a part of!”
Jodie believes it’s important that the younger generation have solid female role models to aspire to, but is aware that men often
get such roles in film and television.
“It’s OK to look up to women! As an actress, I didn’t want to stand at the side giggling and clapping. I wanted to run and jump about but those people didn’t really look like me.
“It will be really exciting when women aren’t treated as a genre, just as cast members. If a woman leads a show, it doesn’t mean it’s for women.
“And to me, the Doctor is a pillar of hope, striving for brightness and inclusion.”
Although everyone is making a huge deal about the first female Doctor, Jodie says she never once approached the role with gender in mind.
“I never thought, ‘How would a woman play this role?’ because I just am one. I don’t think a guy has ever gone, ‘How would a guy do this scene?’
“My approach to this is coming from a very instinctive place which feels genderless to me, because it’s never been ingrained in me that there’s a specific way a woman behaves and a specific way a man behaves.
“The best thing about The Doctor is I’m not playing either – I’m an alien. So there really are no rules.
“And I’ve got two hearts… so I can do whatever I want!”