\u201cNinety per cent of that last day I was basically in bits,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s the best job I\u2019ve ever done and I\u2019ve loved every second of it, but it was the right time. It was like giving yourself stitches \u2013 you know you need to do it, but it felt like s**t.\u201d<\/p>\n
And so she cried. A lot. Jodie Whittaker is, by her own admission, an emotional person, full of smiles, tears and \u2013 as in this interview \u2013 near-constant laughter.<\/p>
\u201cI\u2019m always on the brink of tears. And I\u2019ve had to contain that playing this character more than I do most characters I\u2019ve ever played. Usually being on the brink is like my winning ticket. With the Doctor I\u2019m much happier [she says it with jazz hands] than I normally am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whittaker credits departing showrunner Chris Chibnall \u2013 who also wrote for her on three series of Broadchurch as the endlessly browbeaten Beth Latimer \u2013 for bringing out the real Jodie.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a long time I don\u2019t think anyone knew that I had a Yorkshire accent and laughed a lot. Had Chris not been the person to give me this job I don\u2019t think I\u2019d have been seen for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chibnall got to know Whittaker on Broadchurch, where he saw the person in between takes, when she wasn\u2019t performing or doing \u201ctroubled\u201d. That person is, in her own description, \u201ca bit fidgety, a bit twitchy, doesn\u2019t sit still, tries to have about 15 conversations but doesn\u2019t quite get to the end of any of them, winds everyone up because I\u2019m really exhausting and I don\u2019t know when to shut up\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s true \u2013 the real Jodie does talk a dime a dozen, spiralling off on errant, TARDIS-style tangents that are both maddening and fascinating (ranging from her terrible handwriting and an anecdote about spiders to her well-documented love of Coldplay).<\/p>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/10\/power-of-the-doctor-key-art-71e5b04.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>One thing she loves about Doctor Who and the passing of the torch is that it legitimises this level of discussion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the only job where you get to go to the next person, \u2018Can I just tell you what I think?\u2019 whether they want it or not. David [Tennant], Matt [Smith] and Peter [Capaldi] never tried to say to me, \u2018This is what it\u2019s going to be like,\u2019 but the one headline they all said was, \u2018It\u2019s like nothing you\u2019ve ever done.\u2019 So what I would say [to Ncuti Gatwa, the new Doctor] is to just be really, really in the moment. I realised within an hour of starting that I was going to have the time of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
She says that although she hasn\u2019t actually met Gatwa in person yet, they have spoken about the role. \u201cHe\u2019s going to be amazing. Even just hearing his voice you can tell he is someone who speaks with a smile. And I absolutely love that in people. That kind of energy for the Doctor is beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
She delivers that line with a thunderous expletive and I tell her that it\u2019s funny to hear Whittaker swear. In fact, she swears quite a lot.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy do you have to pick up on one of my flaws?\u201d she says, laughing. \u201cWhen I\u2019m at work I\u2019m a nightmare. Especially when I forget a line. It really rolls off the tongue. It\u2019s like, \u2018Beep. BEEP. BEEEEEP!\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s only striking because we haven\u2019t heard her swear much before. She is, after all, the Doctor, the lead role on a flagship BBC programme that brings with it an ambassadorial brief. There\u2019s a scrutiny that comes with the job. With Whittaker, it came from the moment her casting was announced.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a massive break but I was 36, I\u2019d already worked. So I knew the bits of my job I liked and the bits I didn\u2019t. I\u2019d already decided a long time before this job what I\u2019m comfortable with, and a lot of that is blocking out noise. So therefore zero social media: don\u2019t need to know. And then it\u2019s just about knowing you\u2019re working for a show that\u2019s bigger than you. Just don\u2019t be cocky and disrespect it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Loved this\u00a0Big RT Interview<\/a>? Check out these\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n- Funding, streaming and the future: BBC boss on the next 100 years<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- Charlie Hunnam: \u201cI\u2019m not fully proud of my conduct through those years\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
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That includes fan interactions because everyone wants a selfie with the Doctor. \u201cIf you don\u2019t want people coming up to you, particularly fans, don\u2019t do this job. To me, if someone\u2019s like, \u2018Oh my God, I\u2019m a massive Doctor Who fan!\u2019 that\u2019s great. I wasn\u2019t a Whovian beforehand but I\u2019m a massive fan now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not all her fan experiences have been so positive, however. When it was announced in 2017 that a woman would take the previously male role of the Doctor, some disgruntled fans criticised the move, even starting a Twitter hashtag called #notmydoctor. Despite avoiding social media, it\u2019s clear Whittaker was aware of the vitriol, which has continued on and off throughout her tenure.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018No bras in the TARDIS!\u2019\u201d she barks back in a silly voice. \u201c\u2018Come on! What\u2019s your argument? I\u2019m. Playing. An. Alien!\u2019 There\u2019s a fine line between the hilarity of it and the fact that it\u2019s terrifying that a woman being given a particular job can cause so much rage. It\u2019s just a tiny vial of rage, of course, but the anger, the negativity, are always the loudest.\u201d<\/p>\n
A fact that isn\u2019t mentioned much is that Whittaker\u2019s time in the TARDIS has coincided with her being a mum to a young daughter and, this year, to another baby. This is by design: she has been adamant that she doesn\u2019t talk about her children, to the point where she hasn\u2019t even made their names public. Even so, Doctor Who is a lot of work, a lot of time away from home \u2013 and any parent will tell you that the simplest job changes completely with a toddler in tow.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt opens up a can of worms to talk about it,\u201d she says, explaining her reluctance to cover the topic, \u201cbut I have been so lucky, because I have an amazing support network. Without that the wheels would have come off.\u201d<\/p>\n
That includes fan interactions because everyone wants a selfie with the Doctor. \u201cIf you don\u2019t want people coming up to you, particularly fans, don\u2019t do this job. To me, if someone\u2019s like, \u2018Oh my God, I\u2019m a massive Doctor Who fan!\u2019 that\u2019s great. I wasn\u2019t a Whovian beforehand but I\u2019m a massive fan now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not all her fan experiences have been so positive, however. When it was announced in 2017 that a woman would take the previously male role of the Doctor, some disgruntled fans criticised the move, even starting a Twitter hashtag called #notmydoctor. Despite avoiding social media, it\u2019s clear Whittaker was aware of the vitriol, which has continued on and off throughout her tenure.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018No bras in the TARDIS!\u2019\u201d she barks back in a silly voice. \u201c\u2018Come on! What\u2019s your argument? I\u2019m. Playing. An. Alien!\u2019 There\u2019s a fine line between the hilarity of it and the fact that it\u2019s terrifying that a woman being given a particular job can cause so much rage. It\u2019s just a tiny vial of rage, of course, but the anger, the negativity, are always the loudest.\u201d<\/p>\n
A fact that isn\u2019t mentioned much is that Whittaker\u2019s time in the TARDIS has coincided with her being a mum to a young daughter and, this year, to another baby. This is by design: she has been adamant that she doesn\u2019t talk about her children, to the point where she hasn\u2019t even made their names public. Even so, Doctor Who is a lot of work, a lot of time away from home \u2013 and any parent will tell you that the simplest job changes completely with a toddler in tow.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt opens up a can of worms to talk about it,\u201d she says, explaining her reluctance to cover the topic, \u201cbut I have been so lucky, because I have an amazing support network. Without that the wheels would have come off.\u201d<\/p>\n