Doctor Who Star Jodie Whittaker Reveals The Crucial Advice David Tennant Gave Her

Jodie Whittaker began her long departure from the TARDIS last night in the first installment of Doctor Who‘s ‘Flux’ arc. This saw her facing off against Sam Spruell’s Swarm, who’s set to be a recurring opponent in the weeks ahead. This six-part story will be followed by two specials and a final feature-length adventure intended to mark the BBC’s centenary in 2022. 

Then it’s regeneration time, with a new actor taking over the role and returning showrunner Russell T. Davies at the helm. But with Doctor Who now looking to the future, Whittaker is reminiscing about the time she spent preparing for the role. In a new interview with Radio Times, she revealed the advice the Tenth Doctor David Tennant gave her:

One thing that I really remember David [Tennant] saying to me before, right? Like before I started shooting. He said ‘this will go so quickly. It will feel like it goes in a whirlwind.’ And it has. And I think the one thing that I will be eternally grateful for and I think I can speak for Mandip [Gill] in this way is that we have always been aware of how ace it is. As much as you can be in the chaos and it is you know, it’s a mad whirlwind. Any film set is but this is particularly mad! It’s been yeah, it is a really joyous thing. And so it’s gone quick, but it’s like so rich, full of wonderful experiences.”

It seems that Whittaker was having a “mini-meltdown” prior to her official unveiling, with Tennant enlisted as a steady presence to tell her what to expect over the coming years. His advice was on the money, followed by a specific tip that it can be tricky to learn the Doctor’s verbose and technobabble-y lines.

With the show’s 60th birthday coming in 2023 it’s very likely we’ll get a multi-Doctor episode to mark it. Tennant has proved many times over he’s happy to return to the show, so we should at least see the Tenth and Thirteenth Doctors teaming up. Naturally, they’ll be joined by the as-yet-unannounced Fourteenth Doctor, and I’m betting Matt Smith’s Eleventh and Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth will also be making a comeback.

But that’s a long way off yet. In the meantime, Jodie Whittaker still has a number of crises to deal with. Doctor Who‘s ‘Flux’ storyline will air weekly on BBC One until December 5, 2021.