Skip to main content

Since landing the starring role in Doctor Who, Jodie Whittaker has become a well-known face for many Whovians. That comes with reactions, both good and bad, from fans who are passionate about the show. Jodie Whittaker has revealed what she really thinks about being in the sci-fi show and what she thinks of fans’ reactions to it.

What does Jodie Whittaker have to say about starring in ‘Doctor Who’?

Mandip Gill, Jodie Whittaker, and Tosin Cole of Doctor Who
Mandip Gill, Jodie Whittaker, and Tosin Cole from Doctor Who at SiriusXM Studios in New York City | Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Jodie Whittaker told Jimmy Fallon, that her life changed as soon as she got the part in Doctor Who. According to the actress, “You are famous before you’ve set foot on set for the role.” When joining the show, “You are welcomed into this extraordinary family, which is the Who Universe.”

“It’s really beautiful,” Whittaker says. However, “it’s an overnight thing.” She mentions that “even though [she’s] an actor and at the time [she] was 35, [she] was still like ‘Oh my God, people are looking at me.'” “You’d think [she’d] be a bit used to it cause [she’d] been on [TV] before, but [Doctor Who] is a different thing,” she says.

What does the actress have to say about fan reactions to ‘Doctor Who’?

In an interview with Radio Times‘ Huw Fullerton, Jodie Whittaker states that Doctor Who cannot please every fan. “There’s bits people love,” she says, “and bits people don’t love.” However, “you can’t cater for all of that.” All that those behind the show can do is “tell the stories [they] want to tell.”

According to the actress, those behind the show have a love for it as well. “[She and the rest of the cast are] guided from the point of view of one of the biggest Doctor Who fans [she knows],” Whittaker says. “Under the leadership with the writers and with [showrunner] Chris Chibnall, [they] feel like [they’re] in very safe hands.” 

What does Jodie Whittaker have to say to ‘Doctor Who’ fans?

For Whovians, both old and new, Jodie Whittaker represents a change for the beloved show. Doctor Who is always changing but this regeneration is more intense than ever before. To new fans, Whittaker tells Jimmy Fallon that “Whether you have [a] reference point from any other season is kind of irrelevant because it’s a show for everyone.” Whittaker adds that she’s “a new Whovian” herself.

This fits with what Whittaker has said before about the show, in an interview with TV Guide’s Maureen Ryan. As she said then, the show “touches so many people because it’s inclusive rather than exclusive.” That doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t treats for older fans as well. In season 12, Whittaker tells Fullerton of Radio Times, “we’ve got old monsters returning.”

Fans can also look forward to “some challenges ahead for the Doctor and for the family.” Whittaker says that the show is “as epic and dramatic and as funny and as scary as [fans] want it to be.” She continues by saying that season 12 “takes us on [an] emotional journey.” During this “journey”, fans will “discover things about the characters that [they] haven’t seen before.”

“It’s a natural progression, and it doesn’t regurgitate ground that’s been covered,” Whittaker says. However, “it also isn’t a complete curveball to the world that you know, and the characters that you know.”

Best in Entertainment