Sue Jenkins has praised current Doctor Who lead Jodie Whittaker for “paving the way” for greater diversity when it comes to casting the Fourteenth Doctor.
Speaking on Morning Live on Friday 12th November, the actor opened up about her role as John Bishop’s on-screen mum in the BBC One sci-fi series.
“I did age up a little bit [for the role], but to be honest with you, I was just so delighted to be a part of Doctor Who, [and] then to know I was working with John Bishop… was just brilliant,” she said.
“We had such a lovely time [filming]. We just clicked as a family straight away.”
Asked about Whittaker’s upcoming departure from the series, Jenkins said that the part was “open to everyone now”.
“To be honest, Jodie’s shown us that as long as you’re a wonderfully talented actor with lots of stamina, because you’re in virtually every scene and night shoots and everything else, it’s open to everyone now,” she added.
“I wouldn’t be presumptuous enough to say who that should be… but I just think now it’s open, thanks to Jodie paving the way with great imagination to take it into another dimension. Who knows.”
Whittaker recently told Radio Times magazine that she considered going back on her exit plan whilst filming the new episodes.
“Sometimes it was like… ‘Are we sticking to this decision?’ There’s part of me that could absolutely say, ‘No, let’s keep going! Let’s go back on it!’ But to give the fans the level that they deserve, there has to be some sacrifice. You have to know when you’ve done it,” she said.
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