Doctor Who Series 11: Everything We Know So Far
6. The Personality Of The Thirteenth Doctor
It looks like the thirteenth Doctor is going to be much easier to describe than both Peter Capaldi and Matt Smith’s Doctors. In marked contrast to the mystery, unpredictability and darkness of Moffat’s Doctors, Jodie Whittaker brings to the role a spirit of childlike wonder, the reliability of a friend who can be trusted, and a bright and colourful optimism. She describes the Doctor as ‘a beacon of hope’ with producer Matt Strevens adding that she has an “utter joy for life” and treats the universe and everything in it with wonder and respect.
There may have been a reticence to give too much away at the comic-con panel, but when it came to describing the thirteenth Doctor, the whole team, including Chibnall did not hold back. The very qualities they were describing seemed to radiate through them as they spoke. It has often been said that the companions rather than the Doctor provide the role models for the audience, but Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor has been sold as a character who younger children especially can aspire to be. This refreshing simplicity will be a much-needed tonic in a divided and uncertain world.
This Doctor is a symbol of possibility, of freedom, and of a love for life that cannot be extinguished even in the face of adversity. That’s why this year it matters that Whittaker is using her natural accent. It matters that the Doctor is a woman. And it matters that her alienness is something to be welcomed not feared. Such things shouldn’t be a big deal, but because of the state of the world we live in - where inclusiveness and equality are still met with fierce opposition, they absolutely are.