Doctor Who will say farewell to 13th Doctor actress Jodie Whittaker in its Centenary Special, and it’s sounding like the first female Doctor is getting an emotional send-off. Whittaker took some time recently to talk about her scenes as well as her reaction to her character’s regeneration and used some NSFW language in explaining the gravity of the scene.
As fans await the premiere of “The Power Of The Doctor” in October, Jodie Whittaker spoke to Empire Online about her final scene in Doctor Who. Whittaker gave a shoutout to showrunner Chris Chibnall (who will also depart after this special) and shared her reaction to shooting the final scene:
I love the dialogue Chris wrote for my regeneration. It captures my Doctor beautifully. It’s simple, epic, and beautiful...When I could see the crew was happy with that last shot, that’s when my bottom lip started going. I was like, ‘Well, they can’t say they need another take now because I’ve fucking lost it!
Jodie Whittaker had trouble holding it together for her final scene in Doctor Who, which isn’t too surprising. Anyone with an HBO Max subscription can revisit the regeneration episodes of past modern Doctors and see that they’re always a very emotional experience. It’d be strange to hear Whittaker went and filmed the scene without any emotion at all, especially after three seasons in the franchise.
The actress also spoke about “The Power Of The Doctor” outside of the actual regeneration scene and teased it’s something that Doctor Who fans will be excited about. As is often the case with regeneration episodes, Jodie Whittaker refers to it as a “massive” thing:
It’s one for the Whovians. It’s a huge treat if you’re a proper fan. It’s got all the iconic things that you associate with Doctor Who. It’s massive.
There’s still quite a bit of mystery surrounding “The Power Of The Doctor,” as we don’t know quite what to expect besides the return of some familiar faces. Sacha Dhawan will reprise his role as The Master, and Janet Fielding and Sophie Aldred will return as past companions Tegan and Ace, respectively.
Doctor Who fans also may have some questions regarding The Doctor’s upcoming regeneration, and whether this special will feature incoming actor Ncuti Gatwa’s first scene as The Doctor. It’s possible that Whittaker’s regeneration won’t be complete before the episode’s end, and Gatwa won’t premiere until a later date.
There’s also some speculation that Jodie Whittaker may regenerate into David Tennant’s returning Doctor, which would be unprecedented. With that said, Doctor Who is being cryptic about how he and Catherine Tate’s Donna Noble will return for the 60th anniversary special in 2023, so maybe there is something to those theories? Returning showrunner Russell T. Davies is keeping a lot of his secrets about the future of the show close to his chest, so fans may just have to wait for this episode to get some of the answers they so desperately want.
Fans will be able to catch “The Power Of The Doctor” when it airs on BBC America this October. Here’s hoping Jodie Whittaker’s farewell as the character is every bit as emotional as she promised, and a memorable episode to hold fans over until the 60th anniversary.
