Doctor Who audio producers Big Finish are now well into their Thirteenth Doctor era, with Jodie Whittaker reprising her role alongside Mandip Gill as Yasmin Khan.
Three years after leaving the TARDIS, Jodie Whittaker returned to begin a two-year run of full-cast audio dramas last July. Alongside the trusty Yaz, Big Finish Productions’ The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures series slots in-between Series 12 and the events of Flux.
While she was in studio last summer for the latest batch of stories – including ‘The Violet Hour’ which is out this month – CultBox were thrilled to have the chance to speak to Jodie about returning to her Doctor. It was not long after her surprise appearance in ‘The Reality War’ alongside the outgoing Ncuti Gatwa.
The gift of being the Doctor
CultBox: It’s been nearly eight years since you were revealed as the Doctor. Did you realise at the time it was a job for life?
Jodie Whittaker: Yeah, you do. This is the thing – you were announced before. You’ve made this huge life decision, or someone’s given you this huge opportunity, and you don’t even know if you’re going to enjoy it. You don’t even know if you’re going to be any good at it. And you do know that no matter what, because obviously historically it doesn’t matter how much work other people do, in a joyous way you’ll always be known as a Doctor regardless of the length of CV before or after, you are the Doctor.
So yeah, you do appreciate that it’s going to be life but that is probably its biggest gift – that you don’t have to ever really say bye. And for me particularly, I’ve loved every second of it. I loved it. I loved filming it; I had an amazing time. I’ve loved everyone I got to meet.
And I love all the iterations of it – working on this with Big Finish, but there’s so many other elements you get to do that’s a part of Doctor Who forever. And I was lucky enough to pop up in the [Ncuti Gatwa] regen. So, you hope it’s a job for life ’cause then the gifts keep coming. I just keep getting to meet more people and be a part of more amazing storylines.
Rematches
CB: We know Big Finish are working with Jo Martin, and also Sacha Dhawan. Do you fancy a rematch with either of them?
JW: Yeah! Two of my favourite people. Also, two of this country’s most amazing actors as well and I think that’s the thing that Doctor Who’s incredible for. The characters are so fascinating, no matter who you’re playing, whether it be the Doctor or the Master, whether it be an episode villain or just a supporting character within it, or part of the Fam, these characters are so well written and so exciting that anyone – they have so much life outside filming the series.
And Jo particularly, her Doctor is so amazing! What a way to give it this extra life outside, because you just knew with us – we were filming just scraping the tiny bit of surface of the potential of where that Doctor could go and all the worlds – and so to do it within Big Finish is brilliant. But I would love to bob up and annoy them two!
Representation
CB: We were lucky enough to see the scripts you’re working on at the moment. I notice all three are by female writers. Is that something you’ve asked for, or were you keen to have a female-led project?
JW: It’s not something I’ve asked for, as I shouldn’t have to, ever, it should just be standard. It should just be the storylines written by the other fifty percent of the population, and any gender identity should be representative in the work that I perform as the Doctor. Like, it should always be the case that we work on things from multi-perspectives because otherwise it’s the same storyline over again.
So, I’m lucky I don’t have to say. I think I would have done if it had looked a different list. But I didn’t have to, but I shouldn’t have to, and probably, hopefully, in the next however many years – it doesn’t even become a conversation. I think that the thing that qualifies you to be a writer for Doctor Who is being a really great writer and all of these people are, regardless, and so that’s the best thing for me.
It was wonderful to see, but also, I don’t walk into a room going ‘Hey – I’m a female!’ I just walk in. I think it’s maybe more something that’s noticed by other people necessarily than yourself.
Yorkshire
CB: Talking of representation – are we going to get plenty of Yorkshire through your stories?
JW: Well, I’ve obviously worked really hard on losing my accent! I think lots of places are celebrated, but the minute me and Mandip open our mouths, it doesn’t matter where we are, we drag that county round with us – regardless of what planet, what bit of history, here we are! Very Northern.
CB: Is there a historical character you’d like to have a story with? On the TV we met Rosa Parks, Mary Seacole…
JW: I probably should have listened more in my history classes. Oh man – I think there’s historical times, which is so funny because, if you talk to some young people and say if you could go anywhere, where would you, and they say the Eighties. And you say the Eighties, that’s not history! But I say a period of time I would love to have experienced – and for some people they’d say that’s not history – is the Sixties. But for me, I think an exploration of the hippy kind of lifestyle, and I would have loved for the Doctor to maybe have then had a bit of a tweak of the costume.
Keeping her costume
CB: We wanted to ask you about the costume. Back in 2020, the Doctor’s Lockdown broadcast meant so much to a lot of people and I know part of that happening was because you had the costume at home. Have you still got it?
JW: Yeah. I definitely got some stealing rights at the end. I’ve got that, I’ve got my prison jumpsuit. Got my sonic.
CB: So, you’re ready for the call to action?
JW: I’m ready – I didn’t need it though; they had a spare for the last bob up.
Many thanks to Big Finish for organising the interview, and especially to Jodie giving up her coffee break!
Doctor Who – The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures
The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures, starring Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill, are released bimonthly, alternating with the new Ninth Doctor and Rose series. You can catch up with our reviews here and the latest episode is out this month.
The Violet Hour
The Doctor and Yaz arrive in the East End of London, 1926. There’s grief in the air: not only the years of war and sickness, but a more recent death.
A strange message prompts them to investigate the murder of a medium. A young woman whose seances hide deeper secrets – and an unearthly power that threatens the entire city.
Written by Rafaella Marcus, the story’s guest cast includes Liv Andrusier, Joseph Arkley, Anna Crichlow, Olivia Marcus and David Robb.
Doctor Who – The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: The Violet Hour is out 12th March 2026.
It’s available to pre order on Collector’s Edition CD + download), or as a download to own, from Big Finish.