"Doctor Who" made a bold move when they decided to bring in Jodie Whittaker as the first female Doctor of the long-running BBC series. The "Broadchurch" actress is the successor to Peter Capaldi who personally confirmed that season ten would be his final hurrah on the show after playing the titular role for three years.
Capaldi was the 12th actor to play the Doctor. In his interview with BBC Radio, the 59-year-old actor revealed that the offer was there for him to stay in the series after he had expressed his desire to move forward from his "Doctor Who" journey.
The Scottish actor, however, thought it was the right time to take on new challenges in order to grow in his craft.
"I’ve never done one job for three years. I feel it’s time for me to move on to different challenges. I feel a bit sad but rather wonderful. What a privilege to have done this," he said.
His sudden exit from the show raised speculation in terms of the potential casting of a female Doctor which was formally confirmed when "Doctor Who" released its first trailer for the upcoming special featuring Whittaker. The 35-year-old actress, whose credits include "Venus," "Attack the Block" and "Black Sea," had previously worked with Chris Chibnall who was recently appointed as the new show-runner of the BBC series.
'Doctor Who' appoints first female Time Lord
Whittaker said she is "beyond excited" to be the first actress to play the iconic character. Her casting, however, drew mixed responses from "Doctor Who" fans who shared their different opinions on social media. Some commended the show for finally appointing an actress to play the titular role, while others opposed the idea of having Whittaker play the 13th Doctor.
This is the best election result we've had in ages. #doctorwho
— Cate Sevilla (@CateSevilla) July 16, 2017
Casting a female has just written off @bbcdoctorwho. Welcome to the end 😭 #NotMyDoctor
— Jess Noble (@Jessop87) July 16, 2017
'Doctor Who' stars react to Whittaker's appointment
Whittaker, however, gained support from former "Doctor Who" actors who celebrated her casting for the newest "Doctor Who" special.
Colin Baker, who played the sixth incarnation of the titular role, said BBC did the right thing in appointing the actress. Mark Gatiss extended his congratulations to the "Broadchurch" actress on her new project.
Change my dears and not a moment too soon - she IS the Doctor whether you like it or not!
— Colin Baker (@SawbonesHex) July 16, 2017
Terrific news! And about time. A new dawn. Congratulations to the excellent Jodie Whittaker. Here we go again...! #DoctorWho
— Mark Gatiss (@Markgatiss) July 16, 2017
John Barrowman, on the other hand, personally addressed Whittaker's casting in "Doctor Who" at Comic-Con 2017 on Thursday. The actor, who played Capt. Jack Harkness, thought the controversy surrounding Whittaker's appointment was a good sign for the BBC series.
He even recalled the time when David Tennant was chosen as the tenth Doctor after Christopher Eccleston's brief exposure on the show. "People weren’t happy about it. Seriously. There was a lot of upset, a lot of "This is ridiculous!" because David at that time was younger," he said, according to EW. "We all had to accept everybody loving it and everybody hating it."
Barrowman said those who are fanatics of the long-running series should have known that anything could happen to the character. "It doesn’t say that he will be a he all the time. We don’t know who he’ll regenerate into, so it could conceivably happen," he explained.
The actor acknowledged that fans and critics have the right to question BBC's decision to bring in Whittaker as the 13th Doctor. He, however, asked them to "give it a chance" and wait until the new season unfolds.
