Jodie Whittaker thought she was in for another audition when told she won the Doctor Who role

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Jodie Whittaker thought she was still in the audition stage when she was called in for a meeting with Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall, and producers Matt Strevens and Sam Hoyle, according to SciFiNow magazine:

The Day she was told the part was hers, she thought she was attending yet another screen test, walking into the audition room to find Chibnall, Strevens, and producer Sam Hoyle waiting there. “Just so you know,” they told her, “we wanted you to be here so we could tell you we want you to be the next Doctor.”

Jodie Whittaker describes her reaction in the magazine:

“I Just cried. Up until a few month previous I never, ever thought that conversation would ever happen to me. There would have been a lot of guys that thought that, but if you’re an actress, you’re never thinking that’s gonna happen. It’s overwhelming because you know the responsibility because you also know it’s a job for life.  You’re in a family that never kicks you out! You can have been in something else and go, I think I saw you in that, but in this, it doesn’t matter how many Doctors are going to be regenerated, I’ll away be a Doctor and I’ll always be a certain thing to a certain fan at a certain time.”

When actors describe how they learned they won a role, the usually recall a telephone call from their agent. It’s notable that Whittaker was informed in person in the presence of the principal production team.

Issue 150 of SciFiNow magazine is available at newsstands and online today, Friday, September 21.


Doctor Who Series 11 will have its worldwide television premiere on Sunday, October 7 with The Woman Who Fell to Earth.