As soon as it was announced that Doctor Who would cast a woman in the lead role, there was some obvious misogynistic blowback. But the facile gender critique is not the only problem Jodie Whittaker’s time as the Doctor faced. Her run with showrunner Chris Chibnall included controversial story choices that divided the fandom (even if some of those choices were necessary to expand upon regeneration lore). All in all, the 13th Doctor is one of the most divisive in the NuWho era—not that Whittaker was aware of much—if any—of it.
“No one’s told me they’ve hated me. I think it takes a lot to queue up and stand and say to someone, ‘I hated your version of the Doctor.’ So you only have smoke blown up your arse,” she revealed in an interview with The Independent. “So that means I only ever have positive experiences. I’m sure if I was on Twitter, I’d have a very different version. But I’m not. So I go ‘la la la!’”
Living in that bubble of positivity, and being “riddled with pride” over being the first female Doctor (“I mean, it should have been the seventh. You know, at some point it should have come earlier”), Doctor Who was her “happiest time,” Whittaker said. “That show gave me so many opportunities outside of it. I now meet a whole fandom of people that are possibly the most creative and diverse group of people, that love this show that I now love, because I never understood it before and didn’t watch it, and now I’m like ‘oh my gaddd’, and I get its impact. I understand its relevance. And I understand its joy.”
Whittaker added she’ll be “front row” for Ncuti Gatwa’s take on the Doctor, adding that “He’s gonna smash it.” She fondly refers to the show as “a fucking gig and a half,” saying, “Three seasons was definitely enough. But I will be forever grief-ridden that I’m not playing the Doctor.”