Jodie Whittaker has been cast as the new Doctor Who.
The 35-year-old actress has been announced as the next person to play the time-travelling alien when Peter Capaldi – who has portrayed the Time Lord for four years – hands over the keys to the TARDIS in the festive special at the end of the year.
The news was announced by the BBC at the end of the Wimbledon all-male singles final on Sunday (16.07.17) afternoon in a short advert in which Jodie walks towards the police box, whips down her hood to reveal her identity, and smiles.
Some fans may be surprised by the fact producers’ have decided to cast Jodie in the role, as the broadcaster stated just a few months ago that the part would never be played by a woman after a concerned viewer wrote in to complain earlier this year.
The BBC’s complaints officer, Joanne Coyne, said in a response letter that there were currently no plans to have a lady take over the lead – the first in the show’s history.
She wrote at the time: "We appreciate that you’re a big ‘Doctor Who’ fan and you have concerns that the programme would change should there be a female doctor. Be assured there are currently no plans to have a female Doctor Who."
And the fact that the corporation have chosen their Doctor Who must mean that Chris Chibnall – who will take over from Steven Moffat as executive producer at the end of the year – must have already penned the script for the first series next year as he said recently that he wasn’t thinking about who to cast until he had the story in place.
He said: "We’ll cast the role in the traditional way: write the script, then go and find the best person for that part in that script. You couldn’t go out and cast an abstract idea. The creative possibilities are endless, but I have a very clear sense of what we’re going to do, without even knowing who’s going to play the part."
Capaldi announced he was leaving the show earlier this year – shortly after Moffat decided to quit – as he wanted to spread his wings and try something different.
Jodie, on the other hand, is best known for playing Beth Latimer in ‘Broadchurch’, the crime drama that was also created by Chibnall but came to an end last month.
Jodie Whittaker is new Doctor Who
