Doctor Who has finally chosen a woman to play the Doctor after 12 men! Yup, that’s over 35 active years of women playing nothing more than sidekicks and love interests until now. Jodie Whittaker stars in the BBC hit show Broadchurch alongside two Doctor Who veterans. BBC announced her as the 13th Doctor through a video, and followed up with an interview so we could get to know our next Doctor a little better. In the interview, she addresses the question of a woman as the Doctor by saying, “I want to tell the fans not to be scared by my gender. Because this is a really exciting time, and Doctor Who represents everything that’s exciting about change. The fans have lived through so many changes, and this is only a new, different one, not a fearful one.”
Fans took to Twitter to express their joy over the announcement and loyal viewers defended the show’s choice to cast Whittaker.
Past stars on Doctor Who made sure to show their support for Whittaker.
The previous Doctor discussed gender with the current companion, Bill, when she said, “So Time Lords are a bit flexible on the whole man/woman thing, yeah?” and he responded with, “We’re billions of years beyond your petty obsession with gender and its associated stereotypes.” This comment was probably foreshadowing the next Doctor. They had already been changing the image of the Doctor by making him younger with Tennant and Smith and then allowing Capaldi to keep his Scottish accent when all of the past Doctors have been British.
Doctor Who also welcomed its first openly gay, full-time companion, Bill, but the show has featured gay companions in the past. Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint were a lesbian couple who occasionally accompanied the Doctor in adventures. Casting Jodie Whittaker is a major step forward for Doctor Who, and we can only hope that Doctor Who will continue to cast women as their troubled, world-saving superheroes.
Photo Credit: Twitter, @bbcdoctorwho
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