Jodie Whittaker made a brief but emphatic debut as Dr. Who on the shows Christmas special Monday night. The BBC announced that Whittaker would become the first woman to play Dr. Who, the time-traveling alien that has captivated English TV audiences since 1963, over the summer.
Peter Capaldi relinquished his four-year leading role in the final minutes of the latest episode. In a regeneration ritual full of flying sparks and bolts of electricity, he disappears and the character is reborn as Whittaker. She catches a glimpse of her own reflection and quips, Oh, brilliant.
Whittaker is the 13th person to portray Dr. Who for the BBC. I always knew I wanted the 13th Doctor to be a woman and were thrilled to have secured our number one choice, director Chris Chibnall said in a statement in July. Her audition for the Doctor simply blew us all away.
Whittakers resume includes roles in Attack the Block, Black Mirror and Broadchurch; she reportedly beat out a group of actresses that included Tilda Swinton and Phoebe Waller-Bridge to win her part on Dr. Who. In an interview withRolling Stone, Whittaker said she never expected to even have a shot at the role. As a young girl, I did not think that Time Lord would ever be on my CV, she explained.
The announcement that a woman would play Dr. Who for the first time led to a wave of sexist backlash. I want to tell the fans not to be scared by my gender, Whittaker told the BBC. This is a really exciting time, and Doctor Who represents everything thats exciting about change.
Im playing an alien, she added when speaking with Rolling Stone, and gender is not a part of that.