Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker says the new Doctor's “body happens to be female”
Will the gender swap really change the Time Lord?
- Huw Fullerton
Published: Friday, 25 August 2017 at 10:26 am
The casting of Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor in Doctor Who is a significant milestone, with the Broadchurch star set to portray the first female incarnation of the regenerating character from this year’s Christmas special.
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However, it has emerged that Whittaker doesn’t believe the Doctor will fundamentally change.
“I never thought this opportunity would come,” Whittaker said in a new interview with Doctor Who Magazine.
“It is the first time a woman’s played it, but in a way it’s not a woman playing the part, is it? It’s a brand new body, and the body happens to be female.”
She added: “It’s not about redefining it away from anything that’s gone before, but this is a brand-new journey for me and for everyone.”
Whittaker’s comments are in line with series canon, where Time Lords have been described to have a more enlightened attitude when it comes to gender.
“We're the most civilised civilisation in the universe,” Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor told companion Bill (Pearl Mackie) in series 10 episode World Enough and Time.
“We're billions of years beyond your petty human obsession with gender and its associated stereotypes.”
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Elsewhere in the interview, Whittaker also compared her experience creating the new Doctor with the performances of Doctors past, suggesting that her version will be just as unique as the Time Lord’s previous incarnations.
“One of the best things about the role is that all the other Doctors have brought so many exciting elements to it,” she said.
“It’s brand new each time, and there aren’t those rules in place that say you have to behave like this or speak like that. That’s so liberating and exciting for me as an actor.
“I have the ultimate freedom in approaching the role – the same freedom that every previous Doctor has had.”
Personally, we can’t wait to see what she comes up with. Only 4 months to go…
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Doctor Who returns to BBC1 this Christmas
Authors
Huw FullertonCommissioning editor
Huw Fullerton is a commissioning editor for Radio Times magazine handling comedy, entertainment and specialist drama. In a previous regeneration, he covered all things sci-fi and fantasy for RadioTimes.com.
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