Doctor Who: Jodie Whittaker on Learning About Ncuti Gatwa Casting

Time continues ticking away on current Doctor Jodie Whittaker & showrunner Chris Chibnall‘s run on Doctor Who, reaching its endgame this Sunday with “The Power of The Doctor.” Leading up to her final special, Whittaker has been running the interview gauntlet as she looks back on her three series & three specials and looks toward the future. In this case, the future of the long-running sci-fi series, which sees Russell T. Davies returning as showrunner for the 60th-anniversary event before moving on to Series 14 with our new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa. “I just think it’s the most exciting casting. For us to finish, and the baton going not only to Russell [T. Davies] but to him, what a thing for us,” Whittaker shared during an interview with EW. “Because no matter where this goes, he’s going to bring on such a huge fandom that won’t have seen ‘Doctor Who.’ So they’ll potentially look back at the history, and it’ll be us, and we’re a part of that now, and part of the canon, which is really exciting.” But even though millions learned of the casting when it was announced globally, Whittaker had a heads-up much earlier.

“I was waddling around because I was very pregnant, and my phone rang, and it was Russell. He was like, ‘Hello, darling, so I’ve got some news.’ I was like, ‘Oh my god!’ So, immediately, I was like, please, can I have [Ncuti’s] number? He was like, ‘Of course, you can.’ I think I then rang him about ten times, but because he’s the busiest actor in the land, he was on the set of something else,” Whittaker shared regarding when and how she first heard the news. “He was really sweet and texted and said, ‘I’ll ring you as soon as I wrap.’ I ended up speaking to him, and he’s so lovely, and now, unfortunately, gets loads of Whattsaps from me.”

Whittaker’s final journey finds the Doctor, Yaz (Mandip Gill) & Dan (John Bishop) facing off against some of the Doctor’s deadliest foes. We’re talking about everyone & everything, from Daleks and Cybermen to Sacha Dhawan‘s Master. But our trio won’t be facing the end of the world alone, with Sophie Aldred‘s Ace, Janet Fielding‘s Tegan, Jacob Anderson‘s Vinder, U.N.I.T., and others ready to join the fight. BBC’s Doctor Who: The Power of the Doctor is set to hit screens on October 23rd at 7:30 pm UK time (and on BBC America at 8 pm ET, unless they also decide to air with the BBC, too). Now here’s a look at a special trailer looking back on Whittaker’s run as a prelude to what’s to come in less than a week:

During a recent interview with Doctor Who Magazine #538 (which you should be ordering, and you can do that here), Whittaker was asked about the possibility of returning as the Doctor (like David Tennant is doing for new/returning showrunner Russell T Davies‘ 60th-anniversary events). “I would love to, yeah,” Whittaker responded. “I know I should probably be more mysterious about it. But I’m putting it out there that I’m available. If anyone’s reading this, who’s involved in ‘Doctor Who.'” And when she was reminded that Davies is a frequent DWM reader, Whittaker shifted her focus in his direction with, “Russell, I’m here!” Here’s a look back at the official trailer (and if that scream at the end doesn’t break your heart, then you might be missing one):