Jodie Whittaker has spoken of her “honour” of playing the first female Doctor Who and inspiring a whole new generation of girls.
Jodie, who was unveiled as the 13th Time Lord in July last year, made her first appearance as the Doctor in the final moments of the 2017 ‘Doctor Who’ Christmas special.
Now we’re just months away from the new series, which the BBC teased in the first official trailer aired after Sunday’s World Cup final.
In an interview with Radio Times, Jodie spoke of her excitement at playing one of TV’s most iconic characters.
“There’s the chiselled superhero that we’re used to seeing and we’ve all grown up with,” she says. “But Doctor Who has never been that, which is wonderful. It’s attainable in so many ways.
“And now it isn’t just attainable for half of the population. The other half can be the Doctor as well. Girls will no longer just think, ‘Oh, I could be a companion.’ Being the first female Doctor and showing children that their heroes in shows don’t always look the same is a huge honour for me.”
Despite taking on such a huge role, the ‘Broadchurch’ star admits the pressure is less because “all the rules are out the window”.
She explains: “The pressure on any actor coming into the role – man or woman – is huge because they’re big boots to fill. And for me there’s been 12 pairs of boots. Well, 13 if you count [50th anniversary guest star] John Hurt. Then we could throw in David Bradley [from the last Christmas special]! That’s a lot of boots!
“In a way, though, there is liberation in that new direction: the pressure is less for me because I can only do this my way. All the rules are out the window! That’s what makes it so fun.”
Read the full interview with Jodie in the new issue of Radio Times, out now. www.radiotimes.com