Home
TV
Sci-fi
Steven Moffat: Missy was the turning point in casting a female Doctor

Steven Moffat: Missy was the turning point in casting a female Doctor

Was Doctor Who’s big change written in the stars?

Huw Fullerton

Published: Thursday, 21 September 2017 at 11:47 am

The casting of Jodie Whittaker as the new star of Doctor Who this summer took many fans by surprise, with her status as the first female Doctor kept under wraps for months before being unveiled during the Wimbledon tennis final.

However, some fans have since pointed out that there were some hints towards the Time Lord’s gender change in the most recent series of the BBC sci-fi drama, with Peter Capaldi’s Doctor hoping the future could be “all girl” in series finale the Doctor Falls and previously explaining his species ability to change gender to companion Bill (Pearl Mackie) in World Enough and Time.

“We’re the most civilised civilisation in the universe,” he said. “We’re billions of years beyond your petty human obsession with gender and its associated stereotypes.”

And of course, even before that we had the fact that the Doctor’s longtime nemesis the Master (previously played by Roger Delgado, Antony Ainley, Eric Roberts and John Simm) had regenerated into a woman herself in 2014, Michelle Gomez’s Missy – a choice that departing head writer Steven Moffat now says was the catalyst for Whittaker’s casting.

“I mean I suppose we’ve been heading in this direction for a while with the Master becoming a woman,” Moffat told The Showbiz Lion at the Edinburgh TV festival.

Want to see this content?

This page contains content provided by YouTube. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as YouTube may use cookies and other technologies. To view this content, choose 'Accept and continue' to allow YouTube and its required purposes.

Accept and continue

“I always thought the moment the Master became a woman, the Doctor would NEVER allow that to stand without having a go at the same.”

So clearly, a female Doctor was written in the stars for years – and Moffat seems pretty pleased that it’s finally happened.

“I think it’s absolutely wonderful. I think it’s thrilling,” he said.

“But never mind the fact everyone’s talking about how it’s a woman – it’s Jodie Whittaker! That’s the great thing. Jodie Whittaker, one of the best actors of her generation, is playing the doctor.

He concluded: “I’ve already seen her first little tiny bit and it’s brilliant.”

Sounds like a truly masterful enterprise – in more ways than one.

Doctor Who returns to BBC1 this Christmas

Want to see this content?

Accept and continue

Authors

Radio Times commissioning editor Huw Fullerton. He sits in front of a shelving unit, looking at the camera and smiling. He wears glasses and has a moustache

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.

Visit us on Twitter

Get the Christmas double issue

Too much to watch at Christmas? Let Radio Times do the choosing to find something the whole family will enjoy.

Subscribe by 3 Dec