Jodie Whittaker

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE

All at Once

Three years after her emotional ‘final’ bow as the Thirteenth Doctor, Jodie Whittaker is back – first for a surprise cameo in Ncuti Gatwa’s swansong, then for a brand-new Big Finish series, and now for her most epic DWM interview yet. She talks candidly to Benjamin Cook about keeping secrets, her friendship with the ‘fam’, the brilliance of Billie, the beauty of Ncuti, the art of imperfection (and of vom’ing on set), the thrill of non-conformity, and the nowness of everything.

I t ’s 7.40pm on a Saturday in late May, and Leicester Square belongs to us – the Doctor Who faithful. Inside the Vue West End multiplex, The Reality War is raging: hundreds of ‘Whovians’ are watching the 2025 season finale – possibly, probably, if the rumours are true, Ncuti Gatwa’s last outing as the Doctor.

This is serious business. He’s about to punch a ton of regeneration energy into the time vortex. The shock – and I cannot overstate this – will kill him. “Man, oh man,” he sighs, eyes locked on the TARDIS scanner. It’s playing a montage of the Doctor’s former selves to psyche him up. “But let’s be honest,” he adds, flashing that megawatt smile, “I was the best.” The Vue Screen 7 crowd roars its approval.

Then it happens. We hear her first – from off-camera, a familiar, impossible voice. “Okay, let’s say best male,” announces… Jodie Whittaker?!

The reaction in the cinema is immediate and primal: a collective gasp, then thunderous applause. And there she is: on the TARDIS balcony, rainbow-striped shirt, ankle-length coat, blonde bob, every inch the Thirteenth Doctor.

“But don’t tell the others,” she calls out, racing down to the console, where

Ncuti’s Fifteenth Doctor waits – just as Screen 7 erupts again. Then sudden, shushing silence. We’ve remembered – all at once – that we’re not alone in our living rooms. Our cheers are drowning out the dialogue. Ssh. SHH! (Identical reactions are playing out in cinemas nationwide, and millions more – in the UK and around the world – are watching on TV at home.)

Ncuti’s Doctor is stunned. “What?! How–?! How are you here?” Screen 7 answers with a fresh wave of wild applause. We can’t help ourselves.

“I shouldn’t be here at all,” the Jodie Doctor confesses. But when Future You is about to massacre the whole of creation, what’s a girl to do? So, Thirteen has “popped out” of her timeline to save Fifteen from rupturing the vortex, admire his cheekbones, share a little wisdom, and see him on his way.

Within Screen 7’s hallowed walls, we hold our breath. Watching Doctor Who communally is kind of like a religious experience: the anticipation, the reverence, the giddy, divine rapture. I half expect someone to pass around a collection plate afterwards. Who knew fandom could feel this… spiritual?

“Don’t go in fear” (Russell 2:8), Thirteen urges Fifteen – though it could just as easily be Jodie urging Ncuti – before fading back to 2022. Goodbye, Jodie.

And goodbye, Ncuti. He warned us: this is gonna hurt. And it does. “Joy to the world!” he bellows into the cosmos from the open TARDIS doorway, regeneration energy blazing through him. He’s born. He dies. He’s born. All live to die, and rise to fall. For Ncuti, new adventures await. “This has been an absolute joy,” the Doctor beams, as golden light engulfs him, reshaping him into…

…Oh, hello! Billie Piper. The roof of the Leicester Square Vue might as well have been blown clean off. They could probably hear us cheering in Oxford Circus. The true believers in Screen 7 are enraptured.

I t’s three days later, and I’m on a Zoom call with Jodie. Her hair’s brunette now and tied up, an oversized T-shirt has replaced the rainbow stripes, but she radiates the same irrepressible energy from the big screen. Sat in the attic of her north London home, she’s positively fizzing – whether it’s from the weekend’s events or just… life .

She’s a live wire. Interviews with Jodie don’t just happen; they detonate . And this will be her longest, most in-depth magazine interview ever – a fact that amuses and slightly terrifies her. “Oh my God, what if we run out of things to say?!” she laughs.

We won’t. Jodie Whittaker has never run out of things to say. Ask her a question and you get five answers at once – some past, some present, all emphatic. She speaks in exclamation marks. She answers the thing you haven’t even asked yet, her self-described “ping-pong brain” firing at a million miles an hour. It’s like trying to interview a Catherine wheel. “I’m not very good at chilling out,” she admits.

Thank goodness. Who needs chill when you’re perpetually on the verge of breaking into an enormous grin and labelling something “brilliant!”, “amazing!”, or “beautiful!” – punctuated by her other favourite word, which begins with an F and ends with a… truckload of angry letters if DWM printed it uncensored? All you need to know is, Jodie swears a lot, but almost always in unfiltered joy (that is exactly the word). By the end of this interview, I defy you not to have fallen in love with her.

DWM has only given the deep-dive, long-form ‘ultimate interview’ treatment to four people before: Tom Baker (DWM 501), Peter Davison (DWM 503), writer Terrance Dicks (DWM 508), and producer Philip Hinchcliffe (DWM 610). So why now Jodie? Because – and let’s say this upfront – few actors have ever given the Doctor so much of themselves. She didn’t just play the part; she threw herself into it like someone smashing through a train carriage roof. Not as a childhood fan or sci-fi obsessive, but as somebody open-hearted, quick-footed, and curious enough to find herself in it and seize it with both hands.

But before we start, she notes: “I’m a few years out of it now. My memory at the best of times – and my understanding of the episodes – is shaky. And that’s when I was in it, never mind now!” She’s hazy on episode titles, too. But what’s telling is what she does remember: the people. Not just her showrunner, Chris Chibnall, and the ‘fam’ – Mandip Gill (who played police officer Yasmin ‘Yaz’ Khan), Tosin Cole (Yaz’s old schoolmate Ryan Sinclair), Bradley ‘Brad’ Walsh (Ryan’s step-grandad Graham O’Brien), and John Bishop (Liverpudlian Dan Lewis) – but also the sound recordists, the assistant directors, the drivers… the invisible army that makes Doctor Who happen.

And she gets us , too. Because like us, she’s a fan of things. “I’m not from an acting family at all, but I’m from a family of enthusiasts,” she once said. [1] She’s a fan of… well, life. But also – and more importantly – Coldplay. Pulp. John Steinbeck. US sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine . And now Doctor Who , though she wasn’t before taking the role. She grew up with ET and The Goonies , Marty McFly and Ghostbusters , The NeverEnding Story and Labyrinth . Just not the Doctor. Yet it may be the part that defines her extraordinary career. Not least because she was the first woman to lead the show – a fact that becomes the story in every interview. (I decide not to bring it up unless she does. She does.) She made history, and became one of British television’s most recognisable faces. Then, three years ago, she left. Like all

Doctors do. Until she didn’t.

Which brings us back to that cinema, and the wave of euphoria when she materialised in the TARDIS. This wasn’t just a cameo. It was the kind of moment that made the air change. It landed like a homecoming. A victory lap.

If you were there that night, you know what it meant. If you weren’t… well, we’re here to tell you.

“I got to Wolf Studios… I was quite unprofessional that day. I was supposed to be inconspicuous...”

03/06/25 Zoom from north London

As we’re doing this over Zoom, set the scene for us, Jodie. Where are you?

“Ha! I’m in my loft. Very strategically sat where you can see some really cool artwork [points at the modern expressionist lino prints on the wall behind her] by Simon Marks, who’s part of the costume department on Doctor Who – or was throughout my three seasons [Marks was assistant costume designer] – and on Broadchurch [2013-17 ITV crime drama, on which Marks was costume supervisor] – working with Ray Holman [then costume designer on both shows]. Simon’s also an artist – I bought these off him because his artwork’s amazing! That really sums up the genius of the multitalented Doctor Who crew – the behind-the-scenes people.”

What have you been up to this week? Are you filming at the moment?

“No, I’ve been back in London a week. I was away filming [Frauds, an upcoming ITV heist drama starring Suranne Jones and Jodie as confidence tricksters] for five months – in Tenerife for four-and-a-half, then in the Dominican Republic. So I’ve had a really lovely vitamin D injection – though you can’t tell! I’ve been living in a stunning little town called La Laguna, in the north of Tenerife. I completely fell in love with it. And I’d never been to the Dominican – what a privilege! When you’re a kid dreaming of being an actor, you have no sense of what that really means. You think, Oh, it’s all play and pretend. What you don’t anticipate are the opportunities you’ll get to meet people, to travel, to see places…”

Do you get homesick when you’re away that long?

“Oh, 100%. Before I had a family, home was wherever I was filming. But now it’s different. I was so lucky on Doctor Who: Wales was our home, we all lived in Penarth [a seaside town in the Vale of Glamorgan, just outside Cardiff], and I was in a position where that could happen – I had a young family that could come with me. Then I did a job in Australia [2023 Paramount+ drama One Night] for five months, and we all moved out there, too. But other times? There’s a lot of, like, I’m the one away, and I definitely get homesick – this very deep-rooted homesickness. But I try to see that as a positive: it means I’m lucky enough to love my home life. London is very much my home now – has been for over 20 years. I don’t sound it, but I’m proper ‘north London forever’.”

You really don’t sound it. That Huddersfield accent is going nowhere. [2]

“Right? But honestly, I’m like, ‘OHMAHGAWD, I LOVE LONDON!’ I was in Soho all day yesterday, just grinning. ‘I’ve missed you, Soho Square!’ But Cardiff was a huge part of my life. We were there for, all in all, four years. It was hard to prise us out. We even stayed on for a while after I finished Doctor Who. I wrapped [on her final episode, 2022’s The Power of the Doctor] in October 2021, and we spent that Christmas there.”

Let me tell you where I was this Saturday evening. I went to the cinema with my DWM colleague Emily Cook – no relation – to watch the Doctor Who season finale on the big screen. We weren’t alone: 300 fans packed the room, with hundreds more overflowing into the cinema down the road.

“Had you read any spoilers? Did you know what was coming?! I had absolutely no idea!

I did not know [Billie Piper was appearing at the climax]. I didn’t even know it was on. I didn’t know that episode was airing. I was at a mate’s house in Huddersfield, because I’d gone up north for the school holidays, and – bzz! – I looked at my phone and was like, ‘Why is Brad texting me? Why is David [Tennant] texting me? Oop, there’s Chibnall. Summat’s going on! All these randoms texting me.’ [Guffaws] Then it hit me: ‘Oh! It’s on?! Bloody hell, that’s come round quick.’ Also, I was like, ‘Ha! I’m such a good secret-keeper,’ because no one had known I was in it.

“Then I got into my mum and dad’s, and my mum was like, ‘I’ve watched you on iPlayer!’ So I went and watched it, and then I… swore. [Laughing] ‘What the [expletive]?!’ When I saw Billie, I couldn’t believe it. I loved it so much. I’ve had so many moments like this with Doctor Who, and I will never cease to be amazed and shocked and excited – even when I’m part of it. It’s just brilliant. I was texting David going, ‘DID YOU KNOW?!!!’”

Jodie’s back in The Reality War (2025).

With Suranne Jones in ITV thriller Frauds (2025).

Isn’t it like being a former US president: you still get intelligence briefings years after you’ve left office?

“Absolutely not! Well, I think you do for some stuff. Obviously I knew it was a regen episode…”

You knew you were in it, right?

“Yeah, I’d read my bits! [Laughs] But I didn’t know who Ncuti was regen’ing into. I’m glad I didn’t. I find the pressure of knowing just… too much. Even having this one day [the day she shot her scene with Ncuti], I was like, ‘Wow, I’d forgotten the level of stress involved [in keeping secrets].’ Even the production I was on [Frauds] didn’t know. They’d been told I was filming pick-ups [additional shots or scenes recorded after principal photography has wrapped] for a different show in Cardiff. I had to be released. I wrapped for the day, got on a flight from Tenerife, landed at Gatwick at half-midnight, got driven to Cardiff, arrived at 4am… then got picked up at half-six to go film!”

Had you slept? You can’t have slept.

“I had, like, an hour. I didn’t sleep on the flight – I was with various family members who don’t let me. When I got to Gatwick, my mum and fam went in one direction, up to north London, and I went to Cardiff. It had all the makings of a sleep in the car. But then I spotted Kyle [Davies], the driver [on Doctor Who], who I’d not seen in years. I was so happy to see him, I couldn’t sleep! I was like, ‘Oh my God! How are you?! What have you been up to?’ Then I was like, I need to sleep. But I couldn’t. I was too excited! When we got to the hotel, I was snuck in through a side door, even though I was like, ‘I don’t think anyone’s around at 4am!’ Then I was whisked out again two-and-a-half hours later…

“Oh, hello!”

In a new, huge TARDIS – with “scary drops”!

“Here’s the thing: I’m in the script and on the call sheet [the daily shooting schedule sent out to cast and crew] as ‘Petrol’, not ‘the Doctor’ or ‘Doctor 2’ or ‘13’, so most of the crew didn’t know I was coming[3] Some did – make-up knew. Hey, how good was my wig? – I thought my wig was amazing – because I’ve got long dark hair at the moment. Anyway! I was supposed to be really, really discreet. I was meant to be in the back of the car into work. Blacked-out windows. But I was like, ‘I’m not sitting in the back!’ – because Joey [Davey, another driver] had picked me up. I need to catch-up with Joey! ‘Hello, Joey!’

“Then I get into Wolf Studios, through the gates… and there’s Deian [Llyr Humphreys], the sound recordist. I ran across the forecourt. ‘DEIAAAAAN!!!’ I literally couldn’t have made a bigger entrance. Seeing all those familiar faces, it was what I imagine a school reunion’s like: time’s passed, but no time’s passed. I thought, I [expletive] love this! I was SCREAMING around the studios. Being shushed because they were going for a different take – ‘Oops, sorry! I’m just talking.’ I was quite unprofessional that day. [Bursts out laughing] I was supposed to be inconspicuous.”

That’s the undercover life off the table.

“Yeah, MI5 can cross me off their list. I’d be a terrible spy. If I was on [BBC One game show] The Traitors, I’d have to be a Faithful. I can’t be sneaky-Pete-ing around. I’d be rubbish.”

You’d be great on The Traitors .

“Never gonna happen. I’d never do it. No way.”

You know they’re doing a celeb version?

“Of course I know there’s a Celebrity Traitors! I’ll be watching. But actually going on it? Not a chance.”

Devastated. Why such a hard no?

“Because I did Bake Off [laughs], and realising what I’m actually like in real life is the most exposing thing ever. Watching myself on Bake Off [Jodie was a contestant on Channel 4’s The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off in 2024], I was like, ‘Oh my God, I said “proper chuffed” about eight times! “I’m proper chuffed with that… I’m proper chuffed…”’ Me as me is car-crash television. I need a script. I need lines. I need directors. I need an editor, and something to hide behind. But me – just me? Absolutely not.

“The good thing about Bake Off – the celebrity version – is it’s for charity; something bigger than yourself. But there is no way you’d catch me doing anything that exposes me like that again. I realised my vocabulary is terrible, I swear every other word, and I’ve got absolutely zero skill set except acting and crying.”

“Would I come back to Doctor Who ? I now hope it will be every five or six years.”

Later…

The fun thing about watching The Reality War in the cinema was when you appeared, there was a gasp, then a cheer, then the cheer cut off as everyone realised, if they kept cheering, they’d miss your lines. In fact, you got two cheers: we hear you first – big cheer! – then we see you – an even bigger cheer!! Billie got a huge one, too.

“She gets the BIG one. [Laughs] I’ll take that. The thing is, the impact she’s had – with Chris [Eccleston], but then particularly David and Billie’s tenure… there’s such love for her. She’s so iconic. But because Billie, traditionally, is a fam member [companion]… for it to be revealed, in that moment, that she’s actually [maybe] now the Doctor, I just think it’s incredible. What a journey the fandom has gone on! And of course Russell [T Davies, showrunner] did something – again – that makes you go, ‘What the [expletive]?!’ Because he’s brilliant at that. You could’ve just ended on Ncuti regenerating. But Billie appearing? That’s amazing – don’t you think?”