Jodie Whittaker, who has played the Thirteenth Doctor since Series 11 in 2018, has reflected that, even after leaving the show, you’re still very much always part of the Doctor Who family.
This, obviously, is particularly pertinent, as her next story, the as-yet-unnamed BBC Centenary special, will be her last. Indeed, it’s already in the can, so technically, Jodie’s Doctor Who days are over.
She said:
“There are only highs for me with Doctor Who – I’ve had such an amazing time. It’s wonderful to have the specials and that Mandip Gill, who plays Yaz, and John Bishop, who plays Dan, and I are still doing the press for it – it just means that I’m pulling off the Band-Aid a bit more slowly. But even though there might be 13 more Doctors after me, I’ll always have been the Doctor. From the other people who have done it, you know that it’s one of those jobs where you are always a part of the family – you don’t get kicked out. Have I left the cast WhatsApp group? Absolutely not. And if they’ve got a new one without me, I’ll be devastated!”
She’s right, of course: everyone who has been in Doctor Who remains in this ever-growing community.
There’s a lot of press about the new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, and the returns of David Tennant and Catherine Tate, but the Jodie Whittaker/Chris Chibnall era isn’t quite over yet. And what happens beyond that, too, is a mystery — we don’t even know when the next episode will air!
The final Thirteenth Doctor story is expected to air in October 2022, with Janet Fielding and Sophie Aldred returning respectively as Tegan Jovanka and Ace respectively.
