It’s been three years since Jodie Whittaker became the first woman to headline Doctor Who. But by the time the show wraps season 13, her run as the series’ namesake Time Lord will officially come to an end. Whittaker’s departure has provoked a mixed bag of responses across the show’s obsessive fanbase. However, it turns out tha Whittaker’s Doctor could have stuck around longer than previously expected.
Whittaker clarified her reasons for leaving Doctor Who during a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly (via Collider). Showrunner Chris Chibnall and Whittaker agreed on a three-season pact when they started on the series. But once cameras started rolling on season 13, Whittaker began to have a change of heart.
“There was a point where I was definitely like, ‘Uhh, I don’t know…,’” said Whittaker. “We started this [season] and I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to be able to commit to this decision.’ Wonderfully, going into it, it didn’t feel like either of us were being held to our own conversation. It was still very much, between me and him, a very active conversation. But at the point when you’re filming and you go, ‘Right, what are we doing?,’ there was just something about it that was like, ‘I think it is the right time.’ I know at some point there will be another Doctor, and I feel I can wholeheartedly give them this, through tears, and go, ‘Aww, mate, you lucky f***er, you are being given an absolute pearl.’”
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Although Whittaker is getting ready to leave the TARDIS behind, the new season, Flux, is going to give fans something truly special.
“I want people to know that I really did fully throw myself into it and give it all I’ve got so that I’ve not shortchanged anyone,” added Whittaker. “What’s been really vital to me is that I saw this journey out, side by side, with my sister from another mister. The joy I have had going into work every day with Mandip [Gill], and [having] Yaz and the Doctor still on this crazy adventure together, has been wonderful.”
Doctor Who: Flux will premiere on BBC America on Sunday, October 31.
Are you going to miss watching Whittaker on the series? Tell us what you think in the comment section below!
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