Doctor Who: 7 Reasons Jodie Whittaker Will Make A Great 13th Doctor

7. She Has Worked With Chris Chibnall Before

Due to the phenomenal success of ITV’s primetime show, Broadchurch, Jodie Whittaker is one of the most recognisable faces on British TV. She played the role of Beth Latimer in all three series’ of Chris Chibnall’s crime drama. The audience totally bought into her journey from grieving mother to counsellor. Thanks to the realism of both the scripts and Whittaker’s performances, she became easily the most identifiable of characters.

Given the subject nature of Broadchurch, it’s perhaps not surprising that the cast and crew developed strong bonds whilst working on the show. The intensity of a story that is essentially about the social and psychological aftermath of violent crime on families, relationships and community, will have enabled writer Chris Chibnall to know his actors extremely well.

Despite Chibnall’s admiration for the actor, Whittaker was not a shoe-in for the role of the Doctor and gained the part on merit following a stand-out audition. But the fact that she has worked closely with the incoming showrunner before is a bonus, in much the same way as Eccleston (The Second Coming) and Tennant’s (Casanova) prior associations with Russell T Davies contributed to the success of their runs.

Chibnall is expected to make a number of risky changes to the show’s winning formula and this casting decision provides a secure foundation upon which to rebuild the show. With all the talk about the gender of the new Doctor, Whittaker’s casting may well prove to be the safest innovation.