The BBC dropped a shock announcement out of nowhere this Thursday morning as it was officially confirmed that Jodie Whittaker will be leaving Doctor Who after the batch of episodes that are currently in production. What’s more, it’s been likewise confirmed that showrunner Chris Chibnall, who took over the series at the start of Whittaker’s era, is also exiting alongside her. Their replacements have yet to be announced.
While there have been rumors and reports along these lines for a while, now that it’s official fans are getting sad all over again that the end of Whittaker’s tenure as the thirteenth incarnation of the Time Lord is in sight. Unsurprisingly, #DoctorWho and Jodie Whittaker and other associated hashtags and phrases have been trending on Twitter today as Whovians react to the news, sharing reasons why they love the Thirteenth Doctor in the process.
Back in summer 2017, four years ago, we first learned that Whittaker was the next Doctor.
Let’s hope she does.
A lot of folks are obviously already thinking about who’s going to be the Fourteenth Doctor, with many hoping for more diversity in the role now that Whittaker has broken the mold.
But let’s not overlook the fact that we have two years with Whittaker in the role still to go. Along with her exit announcement, it was confirmed that all six episodes of season 13 will air later this year before three specials will then unfold in 2022.
Whatever your thoughts about this divisive era of the show, you have to appreciate its boldness.
She’s been a “fantastic ambassador” for the show.
She will be missed… once the time eventually comes for her to regenerate.
Now that Whittaker is bidding farewell to the Whoniverse, expect speculation over who’s taking the TARDIS keys from her to ramp up from now on. Typically, we’ve found out the identity of the next Doctor a few months after the outgoing actor is announced to leave so maybe we can expect the Fourteenth Doctor to be confirmed later this year, perhaps along with news of the next showrunner.
Doctor Who season 13 is coming sometime in 2021.
