Well, it looks like UK’s obsession with gender quality/diversity has found its way to long-running, popular television series Doctor Who. How so? Well, whether you like it or not, the next 13th Doctor Who is going to be played by a woman. Yes. You heard that right, mate. A female Doctor. While female medication practitioners aren’t new, a woman playing the fictional Time Lord is the first. You could a say it is a milestone, you know, if you are into all the gender equality. Then again, I am not mega fan and so, whoever takes on the character does not bother me a bit, though I cannot say the same for hardcore fans who have been following the Doctor since like forever.
Anywho (no pun intended here, btw), the next Doctor will be played by Jodie Whittaker, an actress who herself is no stranger to sci-fi movies having involved in British sci-fi TV series Black Mirror and sci-fi comedy Attack the Block (2011, StudioCanal) starring alongside Star Wars: The Force Awaken John Boyega. However, Whittaker is perhaps best known for her role as Beth Latimer in Broadchurch, a BBC drama involving showrunner Chris Chibnall who happen to be taking over the helm of the new Doctor Who series.
The announcement was made by BBC on a post on its website which is accompanied by a video of a hooded figure in a forested location. The person in hood is then revealed to be Jodie Whittaker. A key, presumably one for accessing the TARDIS, then appear on her open palm and the new Time Lord, or should I say, Time Lady, was seen walking towards the TARDIS. Whittaker won’t be last to break the status quo, though. Expect more such chain-breaking casting to happen in other BBC programs too and it was explicitly made clear in the same post with the network indicating its commitment to “greater diversity” on its programmes moving forward.
Image: BBC.
BBC via Big Shiny Robot.
