There are two Doctor Who specials yet to come before Jodie Whittaker’s time on the TARDIS is over—but she’s already filmed her final scenes as the Doctor, including the all-important regeneration.
Filming wrapped in October 2021, and Whittaker recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the experience of shooting the Doctor’s transformation: “It was singularly the most emotional day on set I think I’ve ever had.”
She continued, “It’s a really bizarre feeling, because it’s the best time I’ve ever had on a job, and I made the decision to leave it, so it’s a really strange thing to do to yourself. It feels like you’re giving yourself stitches — like, ‘Why have you done it?’ But… it felt right.”
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Whittaker has been in the role since 2017’s “Twice Upon a Time,” when Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor regenerated into her Thirteenth. Her final season, titled “Flux,” ended in December, and was followed by “Eve of the Daleks,” the first of three specials that will close out Whittaker’s Doctor Who era—and the end of current showrunner Chris Chibnall’s time on the show. It’s not yet known who will be stepping into fill Whittaker’s sturdy boots.
After Whittaker and Chibnall make their farewells, Russell T Davies, who was in charge of the series’ 2005 revival, returns as showrunner—something Whittaker is also excited about: “For all the people to pass the baton to, I mean it’s an absolute honor and joy. It’s certainly in the safest and most exciting hands, and what a wonderful time for the show. Once you’re in [Doctor Who] you never want to leave. I suppose it gave me a bit of hope — like, ‘Oh, when you do leave, it doesn’t necessarily mean you leave forever.'”
It’s still a travesty that we won’t get a season with Davies as showrunner and Whittaker as the Doctor, but this allows a person to have a teeny-tiny magical little bit of hope that maybe she’ll be back someday. And we’ve got those two specials to look forward to before she’s gone. No release dates have been announced, but the last one is expected to arrive in the fall as part of the BBC’s centenary celebrations.
