Skip to main content

‘Broadchurch’ actress Jodie Whittaker introduced as 13th Doctor in ‘Doctor Who’

Meet the Thirteenth Doctor | Doctor Who
After several months of speculation about who the next actor will be to play the starring role in the BBC’s long-running sci-fi series Doctor Who, the announcement was finally made over the weekend. Broadchurch and Attack the Block actress Jodie Whittaker will be the 13th Doctor.

The announcement was made in a brief video broadcast on television and then posted online by BBC and BBC America featuring a hooded figure walking through a forest. The figure approaches the TARDIS, the lead character’s time- and space-traveling ship that appears on the outside to be a blue police call box. Upon approaching the TARDIS, the figure opens its hand and the key to the ship appears.

Recommended Videos

The mysterious figure then throws back her hood to reveal her face, with Whittaker showing the hint of a smile as she gazes at the camera.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

As one might expect, the announcement generated a significant amount of excitement and polarizing reactions from fans.

Although it is well established at this point in the series that the lead character — a member of an alien race known as the Time Lords who can regenerate into new bodies when they sustain life-threatening injuries — can shift between male and female forms, some fans took issue with the decision to cast a female lead in the series. The Doctor (as he is called throughout the series, as his real name is unknown) has traditionally been portrayed by a male actor in each of his iterations since the show’s premiere in 1963.

Whittaker will make her debut in the series’ upcoming Christmas Special, replacing actor Peter Capaldi in the role. Capaldi will make his exit during that episode, which is titled (appropriately enough) “The Doctors.”

Whittaker is best known for her featured roles in the BBC series Broadchurch and the 2011 sci-fi film Attack the Block. She shares the former program in common with former Doctor Who star David Tennant, who also played a starring role on Broadchurch. Whittaker is a two-time nominee for the British Independent Film Awards and will be the first female lead in the show’s history.

Many longtime fans of the series have been clamoring for a female lead since the show was relaunched in 2005 after a 10-year hiatus and it was confirmed that members of The Doctor’s race could indeed regenerate into female bodies. The latest season’s finale, which aired July 1, hinted at the possibility of a female regeneration in The Doctor’s future.

Along with Whittaker joining the series in the lead role, Doctor Who will also welcome a new showrunner. Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall will replace the previous showrunner Steven Moffat as the head writer and executive producer on the series with the new season.

“I’m beyond excited to begin this epic journey — with Chris and with every Whovian on this planet,” Whittaker said in a statement. “It’s more than an honor to play The Doctor. It means remembering everyone I used to be, while stepping forward to embrace everything The Doctor stands for: hope. I can’t wait.”

Whittaker follows in the footsteps of Capaldi, Matt Smith, Tennant, and Christopher Eccleston (as well as John Hurt, who briefly played a version of the character) in playing The Doctor during its modern relaunch.

“After months of lists, conversations, auditions, recalls, and a lot of secret-keeping, we’re excited to welcome Jodie Whittaker as the 13th Doctor,” Chibnall said in a statement released by the BBC. “I always knew I wanted the 13th Doctor to be a woman and we’re thrilled to have secured our number one choice. Her audition for The Doctor simply blew us all away.”

The upcoming Christmas Special will be the next episode of Doctor Who.

Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
The best David Tennant Doctor Who episodes
David Tennant in Doctor Who.

There's nothing quite like Doctor Who. The sci-fi show about a face-changing alien that hops about the galaxy in a little blue box has enthralled viewers for six decades now. One of the most recognizable names to take up the Sonic Screwdriver during that period is David Tennant as the time-traveling Time Lord.

Having finished his four-year run as the Tenth Doctor in 2010, Tennant is set to return as the Fourteenth Doctor in November 2023, alongside Catherine Tate's beloved Donna Noble and Russell T Davies in the writer's chair once more. Set to face off against Neil Patrick Harris as the Toymaker –  a character who hasn't appeared in the show since 1966 – it's set to be an explosive and emotional reunion.

Read more
Why Jon Pertwee’s Doctor Who is the best version of the character ever
The Doctor is about to be attacked in Doctor Who.

Growing up in the '90s, Doctor Who wasn't really a thing. Following the sci-fi show's cancellation in 1989, there was a 16-year period – aside from a one-off television movie in 1996 that failed to resurge the series as a whole – where traveling through time and space in a little blue box was non-existent. And yet during this time, at the young age of six, I was first introduced to a mysterious man with a bouffant hairstyle, velvet jacket, and a thrill for adventure.

This was Jon Pertwee. The once-circus performer and Royal Navy member (who reported directly to Winston Churchill during the Second World War), before later turning to the world of acting, made his debut as the Time Lord in January 1970's Spearhead from Space. Taking on the Autons, life-sized plastic dummies animated by an alien Nestene Consciousness, it didn't take long for the 50-year-old to make his mark.
Pertwee's Doctor Who was the perfect hero to root for
Death to the Daleks, a four-part adventure with Sarah Jane (played by the wonderful Elisabeth Sladen), is one of the earliest memories from my childhood. In many ways, it's a story indicative of the show's lasting charm. We have the Doctor's greatest foe in the Daleks, one of the most loved companions in Sarah Jane, and the terrifying Exxilons that contributed to the "hiding behind the sofa" phenomenon that scared children for decades. We even have the Root, a snake-like creature whose schlocky effects answer the question of what would happen if your Dyson hoover went rogue.

Read more
CES 2023: Intel’s new 13th-gen CPUs are faster, cheaper, and more efficient
Intel Core i9-13900K held between fingertips.

Intel is greatly expanding its Raptor Lake desktop processor lineup. As announced during CES 2023, the CPU range will receive some new entries, and these upcoming processors prioritize efficiency by zoning in on performance-per-watt.

The list of upcoming processors is huge, including models ranging from the high-end Core i9-13900 to the budget Core i3-13100F. There are six T-series models coming up too. Here's everything that Intel is preparing for desktop users.

Read more