Doctor Who season 11: Who is Jodie Whittaker? Why she’s right choice

Who is Jodie Whittaker? There may be many people saying this in the midst of this morning’s Doctor Who season 11 reveal. The biggest thing that we can say on that subject in starting out this piece is that she’s a performer who many people out there are going to be more than happy with. If you wanted to see a great actor in the role of the Thirteenth Doctor, you are getting that today.

Through the entirety of the process, we always said that what mattered the most was that the BBC and incoming showrunner Chris Chibnall cast the right person in the role — it didn’t matter if the person was a man or woman, or came from any sort of ethnic background. We didn’t want to see a woman cast simply for the sake of having a female Doctor, and we firmly believe that this is not the case here. Whittaker was probably the best, and she has the resume to go along with it. Her work in Broadchurch was outstanding, and that’s especially important given that Chibnall ran that show and knows what she brings to the table. We know that there were several other Broadchurch actors discussed as possibilities in the press, whether it be Olivia Colman or even some people blissfully thinking that David Tennant could make a comeback.

Beyond Broadchurch, Whittaker has appeared on Black Mirror and also appeared in The Assets and The Smoke. Seeing the regeneration from Peter Capaldi to her is going to be all sorts of fun, mostly because there was a point after Ten regenerated to Eleven that he (briefly) wondered if he was a woman because of Matt Smith’s hair. There have been thoughts around this being a possibility for a rather long stretch of time now. There were even teases via John Simm in the two-part season 10 finale that this was coming.

Whittaker will make her debut at the tail end of the Christmas Special, which is naturally airing on BBC One and BBC America a little bit later this year.

Have no fear

We know that there are going to be some angry people out there about this casting — maybe some are looking at this casting through a misogynist lens, or maybe some just don’t love change. Remember this, though: Change can be good. It’s a fairly common practice for people to complain about a new Doctor only for them to beg for that person not to leave two years later. Ever since the series restarted with Christopher Eccleston, the folks over in casting have done an excellent job ever single time there is a new Doctor to introduce. As we also referenced, it’s been more than half a decade since Tennant’s regeneration into Smith — therefore, the idea of the Doctor being a woman is hardly a new concept. It’s been out there for a while.

The funniest takeaway from this announcement, at least to us, is that this is a perfect reminder that the British press doesn’t always know what they are doing. They spent MONTHS insisting that this was going to be the role of Kris Marshall or Phoebe Waller-Bridge or Tilda Swinton or someone else, and it wasn’t until the last second that this report started to come in.

What do you think about Whittaker being the new Doctor? Share in the comments below! (Photo: BBC.)