When Jodie Whittaker was announced as the first ever female Doctor, the reaction was unfortunately mixed. For every person who was delighted to see the long-running sci-fi show diversify, there was another bitterly moaning about “political correctness.

Former Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker has opened up about the backlash to her casting as the 13th Doctor. The actress made TV history in 2017 when she became the first woman to play The Doctor. While many Doctor Who fans and all of Whittaker's successors were publicly supportive,

Whittaker became the first woman to play the main Doctor when she joined the beloved BBC show in 2017. In a recent interview, she shared how she was under significant pressure after taking on the role and felt that her performance could impact other women breaking grounds in acting roles.

Jodie Whittaker has said that boys did not look up to her when she was cast as the first female Doctor. Following her 2017 unveiling as the 13th Doctor, Peter Davison, another former Time Lord, lamented the move which he said had removed the “vitally important” hero figure for boys.

Whittaker also balked at the idea that her casting meant the character was no longer a role model for boys. “It’s never been questioned that I had to look up to men,” she said. “So it was fascinating that for some, we [women] could not be role models. The Doctor is still the Doctor. But also, I was playing an alien! My gender was not the issue.”

An eight-year-old boy from Leeds is set to star alongside Jodie Whittaker and Robert Carlyle in a new Netflix drama, Toxic Town.