It’s been official for a long time now that Jodie Whittaker will be stepping down from her role as the Doctor in 2022 – and with Doctor Who: Flux having concluded earlier this month, the end of her tenure is very nearly upon us.
First up, Whittaker will star in a trilogy of specials throughout next year, beginning with New Year’s Day special Eve of the Daleks, which has been described by the BBC as an “action-packed spectacular”.
And co-star Mandip Gill, who has played companion Yaz throughout Whittaker’s time in the TARDIS, has revealed that the fact this will be Whittaker’s last Christmas as the Doctor has only recently begun to sink in.
“You don’t think about it, because you’re just doing it,” she told Radio Times magazine. “Filming’s a long process, and you’re in the moment and you enjoy it, and you think, ‘Well, that’s next year.’
“Now it has sunk in a little bit, because of the announcement that somebody else will taking over from us,” she added. “Tears will be shed! But not by me, because I’m cold-hearted.”
Gill’s own future on the future on the show remains somewhat unclear – while Whittaker and showrunner Chris Chinball are both definitely on the way out, there has been no official announcement about whether she might stay on.
Speaking before series 13 began, Gill said “never say never” about the possibility of staying on, claiming that she couldn’t rule anything out at this stage.
“We don’t know where the specials and that are heading for everyone’s character, you know?” she told RadioTimes.com.
“What’s great about Doctor Who is that the audience are so open to old and new characters all the time. They don’t need a whole new cast every time it starts with a new Doctor.
“But at the same time when that does happen, like it did happen for us [in 2018], they’re also massively on board with that. This show is open to so many options.”
John Bishop, who starred alongside Gill and Whittaker in Doctor Who: Flux, recently spoke to RadioTimes.com about his future on the sci-fi series. Watch his response below:
Additional reporting by Huw Fullerton
A condensed version of this interview was published in the 27th November-3rd December issue of Radio Times.
This year’s Radio Times Christmas double issue is on sale now, featuring two weeks of TV, film and radio listings, reviews, features and interviews with the stars.
Doctor Who: Eve of the Daleks airs on BBC One on New Year’s Day 2022. For more, check out our dedicated Sci-Fi page or our full TV Guide.