Ever since Jodie Whittaker was announced as the next Doctor last month, we’ve heard a lot about how excited fans and previous Doctor Who stars are for the Thirteenth Time Lord to be a woman. Whittaker herself has also talked about her enthusiasm for the role. Up until now, though, we haven’t heard much from the point of view of the BBC bosses. After all, you’d think that showrunner Chris Chibnall’s plan to take the series in a very different direction might have been met with some resistance.
As it so happens, though, it seems the higher ups were instantly on board with the idea. Speaking at the Edinburgh Television Festival (via Radio Times), the BBC director of content, Charlotte Moore, said:
“When Chris told us about it we said that’s inspired, that’s fantastic.”
Likewise, Piers Wenger – the BBC controller for drama commissioning and former Doctor Who exec producer – had more to say on the subject of where Chibnall wants to take the show and the impact Whittaker’s Doctor will have.
“Chris [Chibnall] has a very very clear sense of where he wants to take the show and has a very clear sense of the sort of qualities that he’s looking for in his Doctor and Jodie fitted with that.
“He obviously had a relationship with her from Broadchurch. She read for the part, she auditioned for it and she came back a few times. And she herself has a very clear sense of the point of having a female Doctor and what she wants to do with that role and I think she will make her unexpected and iconic.”
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Chibnall had a “very clear sense” of his view for the series. After all, the writer previously revealed that he’d always planned to cast a female Doctor, and if what these BBC execs are saying is true, then it was definitely the right decision.
Thankfully, we’ll get to see Whittaker in action for ourselves at the end of this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special, “Twice Upon A Time,” when Peter Capaldi hands her the keys to the TARDIS.
