Jodie Whittaker has looked back on her Doctor Who tenure, addressing how some sexist criticism had sent her "into a spiral".
Whittaker became the first woman to play the main Doctor when she joined the beloved BBC show in 2017. In a recent interview, she shared how she was under significant pressure after taking on the role and felt that her performance could impact other women breaking grounds in acting roles.
"If Peter [Capaldi] hadn't been good as the Doctor, it would only have reflected on him," she told The Times.
"Whereas I felt that if I wasn't very good at this, I've f**ked it for other actors," she continued. "I think it's completely unacceptable if that was the case, but that's how I felt."
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Addressing being on the receiving end of some sexist trolling, the star continued: "It was a noisy few [people]. Rage is always really loud — compliments are much quieter."
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"But also, that show doesn't have a comparison. It's part of all our vocabularies — the Tardis, Daleks, exterminate!" she added.
"And everyone's Doctor until then was a white man. They are very different actors, but they all fit a specific mould — and I didn't."
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Whittaker also pointed out how the reaction to her casting unveiled the double standards when it comes to identifying with female characters.
"It's never been questioned that I had to look up to men," she said.
"So it was fascinating that for some, we [women] could not be role models. The Doctor is still the Doctor. But also, I was playing an alien! My gender was not the issue."
Whittaker starred as the Doctor for three series of Doctor Who, bowing out after three special episodes in 2022.
The role was reprised by David Tennant, albeit playing a different version of the Doctor to his Tenth, for the show's 2023 specials before passing to Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor in a bigeneration twist.
Doctor Who airs on BBC One in the UK and Disney+ elsewhere. Classic episodes of Doctor Who are available on BBC iPlayer in the UK.
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Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
