Jodie Whittaker’s already appeared in 11 episodes of Doctor Who as the Thirteenth Doctor, but as is true of several versions of the Time Lord after just their first season, it feels like we’ve merely scratched the surface of the character. It’s exciting to hear, then, that the incoming twelfth run will delve deeper into the many facets of the time traveler’s personality.
Whittaker spoke to Metro UK recently during a press set visit and promised that we’ll get to see other sides of Thirteen in season 12 that we didn’t get to explore in the previous year’s episodes.
“Having had an entire season to discover all these different avenues you can go down, and knowing that playing someone like the Doctor means you’re not restricted in any way, some of these episodes I’d say go in a direction that is different for the Doctor from the previous season. So that in itself shows a level or a side to her that we haven’t seen yet.”
When pressed for more info, the actress deferred to showrunner Chris Chibnall rather than spoiling anything. As you’d expect, the EP played things close to his chest as well, but he did make clear that the new batch of adventures will be “delving deeper” into the Time Lord.
“We’re delving deeper into the Thirteeenth Doctor this year. That’s all I’m saying. You’ll see things you didn’t see last year within facets of the Doctor.”
If you discount the ever-complaining #NotMyDoctor lot, most fans would probably agree that while Whittaker was great in season 11, the depiction of the Doctor in the scripts was a little thin on the ground when compared to the multi-layered character work we were treated to with David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi’s incarnations. So that Chibnall and his team have endeavored to strengthen the heroine this time around is excellent news.
We’re yet to get it officially confirmed, but it’s looking more likely that Doctor Who season 12 will kick off on New Year’s Day with the first half of an epic two-parter. As always, watch this space for more.
