Filming has been underway now for a couple of weeks on Jodie Whittaker’s first series as the universe’s most famous Time Lord. Doctor Who series 11 has been filming in Newport and Sheffield so far, and Whittaker will – of course – first appear in the role in the upcoming Christmas special, Twice Upon A Time.
Also appearing in that episode is Mark Gatiss, and he’s given a new interview with the Financial Times (appropriate, given his Game Of Thrones role), where he laments that fact that it took so long to cast a female Doctor.
“The industry is, as we know, inherently sexist,” he argued. “There is a cut-off point for actresses, which appears to be now 23 when they’re deemed too old and they have to wait until they’re playing Lady Bracknell”.
“I think there should have been a female Doctor Who a long time ago”, he said, adding that “up to a certain point in its history, it would have felt a bit like a novelty”.
Gatiss added that “I would love to write more for women”, but noting that “the problem is you might feel slightly hidebound by what people demand that you do. I don’t want to think ‘it should probably be a woman’”.
The full interview can be found behind the Financial Times paywall, here.