Jodie Whittaker hit up former Time Lords for some advice on Doctor Who (Picture: REX)

Jodie Whittaker went to former Doctor Who star David Tennant for some advice on how to handle taking on such an iconic role.

Tennant said he and the new Time Lord had ‘a wee chat’ about the show, which Jodie will star in later this year, and he has every confidence that she’ll smash it.

He said: ‘We had a wee chat, yes. It is quite a unique job, because it’s a show that has so much history to it. And it has a reach that’s quite unlike other things.

‘It’s a bit of a kind of cultural thing – who’s going to be the Doctor? – it’s a news story, really. So to find yourself in the middle of that is a bit overwhelming.’




He added that Jodie had reached out to other former stars Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi – who departed the show last Christmas.

‘I think inevitably you sort of look to people who’d been there before to go, “What is this like? What is this madness I entered into?” And that’s certainly been the case with Matt and Peter, and now with Jodie.

David Tennant left the show in 2010 (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)

‘I know that Jodie’s talked to Peter and she’s talked to Matt. Just for a little support group. You go, ‘What is this madness? Tell me about it.

‘I think inevitably you sort of look to people who’d been there before to go, “What is this like? What is this madness I entered into?”

‘And of course, you know, she ‘s a little trepidatious but she’s basically really excited. She’s such a fantastic choice for it.’

Peter Capaldi left the show last Christmas (Picture: BBC)

He went on: ‘You see it in just those 30 seconds that she did at the end of the last episode. You just go, “Oh my god, she’s all over it.” Brilliant. It’s great.’

David added that Jodie would bring ‘herself’ to the role.

‘What Jodie has sort of become known for as an actress, she’s so brilliantly and heartstoppingly emotional, in something like Broadchurch where she just broke a nation’s heart with this wonderful portrait of this mother and these awful desperate straits, and I think people have often gone to Jodie to break our hearts, because she does it so wonderfully.

‘But if you know Jodie, she’s so funny and rude and she’s got this broad accent, and she’s just sort of fizzes with energy and madness. She’s quite unpredictable and glorious and funny.

‘And I imagine – I don’t know – but I imagine she’ll bring a bit of that too and her natural anarchy will be something that the Doctor will enjoy.’

Jodie’s first appearance as the Doctor came at the end of the 2017 Christmas special Twice Upon A Time.

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