After teasing the reveal on Friday, the BBC has just announced who will be taking over for Peter Capaldi as the new star of Doctor Who: Jodie Whittaker of Broadchurch and Attack The Block. Whittaker is the first woman to play the Doctor in the show’s many decades of history, making this even more historic than most new Doctor announcements. The BBC shared the news with a little video on Twitter, showing a hooded Whittaker stepping toward her TARDIS in a wooded area. (The outfit she’s wearing probably isn’t eccentric enough to be her official Doctor costume, but you never know.)
Variety quotes Whittaker as saying that she’s “beyond excited to begin this epic journey,” adding, “it’s more than an honor to play the Doctor. It means remembering everyone I used to be, while stepping forward to embrace everything the Doctor stands for: hope. I can’t wait.” Capaldi, whose Doctor will step down in the upcoming Christmas special, said that Whittaker is a “wonderful actress of great individuality and charm,” and that she has “the huge heart” needed to play the Doctor.
Along with Capaldi, longtime showrunner Steven Moffat is leaving the series after the Christmas special, with Broadchurch’s Chris Chibnall stepping in to replace him. In his own statement, Chibnall said that he always wanted the 13th Doctor to be a woman, and he says Whittaker’s audition “simply blew us all away.”