Though her casting attracted a backlash – a ridiculous backlash, we might add – from a vocal minority of fans, Jodie Whittaker’s appointment as the Thirteenth Doctor has been widely hailed as a progressive step in the right direction for Doctor Who.
For the most part, previous actors who’ve played the role have also welcomed the news that the Time Lord is about to become a woman for the first time. Since the announcement that Jodie Whittaker would be portraying the character, several stars from the show, both past and present, have congratulated the actress – including Peter Capaldi, Colin Baker and David Tennant. Now, John Barrowman’s weighed in with his thoughts as well, and it seems that he’s fully on board with having a female Doctor.
The fan favorite, who played Captain Jack Harkness on the beloved series, spoke about Whittaker’s casting at Comic-Con last week, saying the following:
We did the first regeneration from Christopher into David, so to speak. People weren’t happy about it. Seriously, there was a lot of upset and there was a lot of ‘This is ridiculous blah blah blah.’ Because David at that time was younger, and we all had to accept everybody loving it and everybody hating it. However, when I was asked about it, [it was] my same exact answer to this. Okay? My sister and I talked about this on the drive down. And the thing is, we buy into the world of Doctor Who. Those of us who love it, we buy into it.
We go where that TARDIS takes us. Therefore, it doesn’t say that he will be a “he” all the time. We don’t know who he’ll regenerate into, so it could conceivably happen. Right? It’s not just a decision. If we forget the producers who are making the decision, if we believe it as that world — I’m getting really geeky here — if we believe it as that world, it could possibly happen. It could be a girl, right? It just so happens that the times have changed and the producers made the decision.
Wrapping up his thoughts, Barrowman noted that everyone should just give it a chance before they start criticizing the decision to have a female Doctor – and he’s absolutely right.
I love Doctor Who, I have since I was 4 or 5 and can remember my first experience with Doctor Who. However, we have to wait and see what happens, right? So, the people who are critics at the moment, they have a right to be critical, but let’s all give it a chance. How about that? When she took that hood off, I thought, ‘Huh, Captain Jack might like you.’
Bringing together the likes of Pearl Mackie, David Bradley and Mark Gatiss, Doctor Who‘s 2017 Christmas Special will be on our screens in the latter stages of December and will give us our first look at Whittaker in the role, however brief it may be. It’ll also herald Peter Capaldi’s last hurrah along with Steven Moffat’s, who’s poised to hand over the keys to showrunner Chris Chibnall for season 11. To get a taste of what’s to come, be sure to check out the preview below.
