Jodie Whittaker "cried" when she discovered she had been cast as the first female Doctor Who.
The 35-year-old actress was unveiled as the Thirteenth Doctor and successor to Peter Capaldi in July, causing a commotion amongst ‘Doctor Who’ fans all over the world, with some delighted that the Time Lord is changing gender, whilst others were dismayed that their hero is becoming a woman.
Whittaker herself was absolutely thrilled to get the iconic part and admitted she shed a few tears when she got the call telling her she’d be getting the key to the TARDIS.
Speaking to BBC Radio 6 Music’s Shaun Keaveny, Whittaker said: "It’s been quite quiet, I’ve only lied to every single person in my life for quite a while, and it hasn’t been stressful at all. It’s quite nice for the first public time to say, I’ve got a new job.
"I didn’t faint [when I got the part], I just played it really cool and cried. It was incredibly emotional, because as a child, all I wanted to do was be an actor, and I wanted to do it because I wanted to play pretend, and that’s the ultimate, and I’m about to play an alien, a Time Lord, and as a girl. Who knew? It’s incredible, and it’s really emotional. I feel like I’m immersing myself into a world that is just – I haven’t even done it yet, but the fans are the most kind and creative and enthusiastic people and it’s so exciting to be a part of that. There’s only a few people who know what it’s like, there’s only 13 of us that know."
Whittaker worked with new showrunner Chris Chibnall on his ITV crime drama series ‘Broadchurch’ and she insists his vision for the sci-fi show is something all Whovians should be excited about.
The blonde star also has a lot of ideas for her portrayal of the Doctor and feels emboldened to not "have to tick the same box" as her male predecessors.
She said: "I already know Chris Chibnall, so I know how amazing he is. The direction he’s gonna take is gonna be amazing.
"The people that are in this role, that we’re excited by and we’re passionate about, that we look up to, don’t always have to tick the same box, and that’s what’s really incredible about it. I don’t even know what the journey is, but that’s the best thing about this part. Every script I read will be brand new and something that I can genuinely say I’ve never done before."
Although her casting has split opinion among the programme’s fans, Whittaker has been oblivious to most of the online reaction because she’s not on any social media platform.
She explained: "At the moment I’ve missed a lot of the fun stuff, and probably the bad stuff, because I’m not on any type of social media and never have been. So if I get sent something, it’s a mate screen-grabbing something. And they obviously edit. But there’s an amazing video of a young girl watching it and finding out, [seeing] that it’s being played by a girl. Seeing things like that are really amazing."
Whittaker will next be seen in new BBC One series ‘Trust Me’, in which she stars as Cath Hardacre, a nurse who loses her job after becoming a whistle-blower and then steals a friend’s identity to pose as a senior doctor at an Edinburgh hospital.
‘Trust Me’ begins on August 8.
Jodie Whittaker cried when she got Doctor Who job
