‘I Was Really Stressed Out’: Doctor Who Star Jodie Whittaker Reveals How Casting Backlash Impacted Her

Former Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker has opened up about the backlash to her casting as the 13th Doctor. The actress made TV history in 2017 when she became the first woman to play The Doctor.

While many Doctor Who fans and all of Whittaker’s successors were publicly supportive, there was a significant wave of criticism for showrunner Chris Chibnall straying from having a white male play the Time Lord. Doctor Who quickly faced this criticism head on by casting Jo Martin as a secret incarnation of The Doctor, thus retroactively establishing that The Doctor could take the form of any sex or gender.

Jodie Whittaker Addresses Backlash Over Doctor Who Casting

In a new interview with The Times, Whittaker jokingly admitted to feeling “really stressed” out about her genre-defining casting.

“It was a noisy few [complainers]. Rage is always really loud — compliments are much quieter,” Whittaker acknowledged. “But also, that show doesn’t have a comparison. It’s part of all our vocabularies — the Tardis, Daleks, exterminate! And everyone’s Doctor until then was a white man. They are very different actors, but they all fit a specific mold — and I didn’t.”

Whittaker admitted to going into “a spiral” because she worried about hurting the chances for other actresses if her portrayal of The Doctor wasn’t well received.

Jodie Whittaker Starred in More Than 30 Episodes of Doctor Who

The 13th Doctor Made Her Debut in “The Woman Who Fell to Earth”

• Showrunner Chris Chibnall introduced the first female Doctor after taking over the show from Steven Moffat in 2017.
• Throughout her three seasons, the 13th Doctor battled Daleks, Weeping Angels, the Sontarans and even her old nemesis The Master, played by Sacha Dhawan.
• Whittaker’s regeneration into David Tennant’s 14th Doctor in the episode “The Power of the Doctor” aired as part of the BBC’s centenary celebrations in October 2022.

“If Peter [Capaldi] hadn’t been good as The Doctor, it would only have reflected on him,” she pointed out. “Whereas I felt that if I wasn’t very good at this, I’ve f**ked it for other actors. I think it’s completely unacceptable if that was the case, but that’s how I felt.”

Of course, Whittaker went on to have a very memorable tenure in Doctor Who, leading up to her departure in 2022. When she bowed out from the show, Whittaker thanked showrunner Chibnall for giving her the chance to make TV history.

“I felt that if I wasn’t very good at this, I’ve f**ked it for other actors…”

“In 2017 I opened my glorious gift box of size 13 shoes,” Whittaker said in a statement. “I could not have guessed the brilliant adventures, worlds and wonders I was to see in them.”

The actress went on: “My heart is so full of love for this show, for the team who make it, for the fans who watch it and for what it has brought to my life. And I cannot thank Chris enough for entrusting me with his incredible stories. We knew that we wanted to ride this wave side by side, and pass on the baton together. So here we are, weeks away from wrapping on the best job I have ever had.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to express what this role has given me. I will carry the Doctor and the lessons I’ve learnt forever,” she added. “I know change can be scary and none of us know what’s out there. That’s why we keep looking. Travel hopefully. The universe will surprise you. Constantly.”

Netflix Tackles the Corby Toxic Waste Scandal in New Drama with Jodie Whittaker

Whittaker has since gone on to film the upcoming Netflix series Toxic Town, a dramatization of the Corby toxic waste scandal in the U.K. The case was a landmark for environmental activism as it established a link between atmospheric toxic waste and birth defects.

Toxic Town premieres on Netflix on February 27. Doctor Who is set to return to Disney+ in the U.S. and BBC One in the U.K. this spring for an all-new season with 15th Doctor actor Ncuti Gatwa, Millie Gibson and Varada Sethu.