Doctor Who: Jodie Whittaker Hopes Fans Aren’t Scared By Her Gender

There’ve been a broad range of reactions to the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the new Doctor, the first woman to play the part in Doctor Who‘s half-century on TV. While there are definitely a number of extreme opinions floating around, Steven Moffat has claimed that most fans love the decision. Even if that’s not entirely true, it would seem that many of the stars of the show are on board with having a female Doctor.

After all, ever since the announcement that Whittaker would be portraying the character, a number of people involved with the sci-fi series, both past and present, have congratulated the actress – including Peter Capaldi, Colin Baker, Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant.

Now, Jodie Whittaker has broken the silence on her casting, giving her first broadcast interview since being chosen as the Thirteenth Doctor last month. While ostensibly speaking on BBC Radio 6 about her new medical drama Trust Me, Doctor Who obviously dominated the conversation, and the actress had quite a lot to say about it. One thing she touched on though was, of course, her gender, saying that she hopes fans aren’t afraid of it.

“I hope, you know, my gender isn’t a fearful thing for the fans. In this world particularly — there aren’t rules and that’s a great thing, you know, so hopefully everyone is excited, as excited as I am.”

The actress also spoke about diversity and how it’s important for the younger generation, saying we should “celebrate the fact of differences.”

“Now we can say to young boys and young girls that the people that you potentially look up to or the characters that you love don’t necessarily have to look the same as before — you know, we can celebrate the fact of differences,” she said.

Fans will get their first look at Whittaker as the iconic character in this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special, which will see Peter Capaldi pass the baton (well, sonic screwdriver) onto her. Her first full season in charge is then likely to air in autumn 2018, at which point she’ll really get to show us what she can do in the role.