Jodie Whittaker Will Remain on 'Doctor Who' For Season 13

Jodie Whittaker in "Doctor Who" (Photo Credit: Sophie Mutevelian/BBC America)

Good news, Whovians! We're going to get at least one more season with Doctor Who's Thirteenth Doctor, Jodie Whittaker 

The current season of Doctor Who isn't even halfway over, but we now know a couple of things for sure. One, the iconic sci-fi drama will be back for a thirteenth season. Not that I think anyone's surprised by this part of the news. The show's doing great, it's as globally popular as it's ever been and the adventures are running the gamut from thoughtful historical stories to offworld space romps. But the second part - the part where Whittaker keeps on being the Doctor for another year - will likely make many fans breathe a sigh of relief.

It's a known fact that Doctors - no matter how groundbreaking or popular they are, don't stay forever. Some, like Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston stay for just a single season, while others, like Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith stay for many years. So it's a comfort to know we won't have to say goodbye to the series' first female Doctor just yet, and just as it feels like the show is perhaps figuring how to best utilize her. 

Whittaker herself spilled the beans that she was planning to stick around the TARDIS a bit longer in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly

“Yes, I’m doing another season,” she confirms. “That might be a massive exclusive that I’m not supposed to say, but it’s unhelpful for me to say [I don’t know] because it would be a massive lie! [Laughs] I absolutely adore it. At some point, these shoes are going to be handed on, but it’s not yet. I’m clinging on tight!”

The full EW interview is absolutely worth your time, by the way - Whittaker's enthusiam for her role and her deft handling of both its cultural significant and some of the reponse to it is all very lovely, and she seems like exactly the sort of person who can embody the best parts of her Doctor for others. 

(Ugh, I just love her.) 

There are still six more episodes in Doctor Who Season 12 to air, so it's impossible to specualte on what a thirteenth season might look like: Would Mandip Gill, Toisin Cole and Bradley Walsh all return as companions? Would Sacha Dhawan's take on the Master pop up again? Who can say? We're not even sure what will happen with this characters this season, so we'll have to loop back around after the finale and see where we are.

But it's lovely to know that we won't have to say goodbye to Thirteen anytime soon, and can look forward to many more adventures in her TARDIS.

What do you think about the prospect of a third season featuring Whittaker's Doctor? How are you enjoying Season 12 thus far? Let's discuss in the comments. 


Lacy Baugher

Lacy's love of British TV is embarrassingly extensive, but primarily centers around evangelizing all things Doctor Who, and watching as many period dramas as possible.

Digital media type by day, she also has a fairly useless degree in British medieval literature, and dearly loves to talk about dream poetry, liminality, and the medieval religious vision. (Sadly, that opportunity presents itself very infrequently.) York apologist, Ninth Doctor enthusiast, and unabashed Ravenclaw. Say hi on Threads or Blue Sky at @LacyMB. 

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