Doctor Who: Jodie Whittaker admits she cried when given the part
In her first interview since being unveiled in a blaze of publicity last month as the new Doctor Who, the first woman in its 54-year history, Jodie Whittaker revealed she cried when she got the part.
The 35-year-old actress, who's best known for her role as the mother of a murdered boy in TV drama Broadchurch, told the BBC Radio 6 Music show that she also wished that her gender wasn't a thing for fans to be afraid of.
"I hope, you know, my gender isn't a fearful thing for the fans. In this world particularly – there aren't rules and that's a great thing, you know, so hopefully, hopefully everyone is excited, as excited as I am," she added.
Her casting was largely viewed positively by fans and commentators, but some on social media argued that the role of the Doctor should not be played by a woman. Whittaker said that she had missed the reactions as she was not a social media user.
Whittaker, 35, breaks a tradition which began at the start of the television series in 1963 that The Doctor is a man, travelling the universe as a "time lord" in a telephone box to protect the weak and combat evil aliens.
READ MORE
* 13th Doctor Who is a female
* Is Doctor Who showing its age?
* BBC America to unveil 13th Doctor
Ultimately, Whittaker hopes that her casting will help fans of the programme to embrace diversity.
"Now we can say to young boys and young girls that the people that you potentially look up to, or the characters that you love, don't necessarily have to look the same as before – you know, we can celebrate the fact of differences."
She told the BBC that she believed getting the role would be "a blessing and a curse", and expressed the hope that media interest in her personal life would die down: "It's not very exciting", she said.
Doctor Who is one of the BBC's most-popular scripted programmes, and has inspired a devoted fanbase in several countries, with clubs, conventions and fan publications. She will be the 13th Doctor on the TV screen.
Whittaker replaces actor Peter Capaldi, who has played the programme's lead since 2014.
Her casting also comes as the BBC deals with the public-relations fallout from revelations that it pays its highest profile female on-air talent significantly less than men in comparable positions. It has already been revealed that Whittaker will be paid the same amount for the role as the current incumbent Peter Capaldi.
Trust her...she's a doctor. Jodie Whittaker tells @shaunwkeaveny about her new drama Trust Me & life as the 13th @doctorwho. pic.twitter.com/s6YanTSrEp
— BBC Radio 6 Music (@BBC6Music) August 7, 2017
But fans of the show may have a long wait to see Whittaker take on a new full series of the show.
While she will make her debut in Capaldi's swansong this Christmas when the Doctor regenerates, a new full season of the show, under the guidance of new showrunner, the former Broadchurch producer Chris Chibnall, isn't expected to start airing until the second-half of 2018.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Stuff