Doctor Who season 11 will see the full debut of Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, after her brief appearance at the end of 2017 Christmas special “Twice Upon a Time.” Despite knowing of her casting for a whole year now, though, we still have very little idea about what sort of Doctor Whittaker will be. Thankfully, one of her co-stars on the new run has helpfully compared her to a past incarnation of the Time Lord.
While speaking to EW as part of their big celebration of the sci-fi series in their special Comic-Con tie-in issue, Doctor Who newcomer Mandip Gill – who’ll play Thirteen’s companion Yasmin – explained that Whittaker has a “very high energy” in her performance as the Doctor, which is similar to Matt Smith’s Time Lord.
“She has a similar energy to Matt Smith’s Doctor. Very high energy. Jodie has that about her Doctor.”
Much like David Tennant before him, Smith’s incarnation was known for his larger-than-life, garrulous personality, and it seems like Whittaker’s returning to that kind of portrayal, after Peter Capaldi played the part with a permanent scowl. Whittaker’s previously named her old friend Tennant as her favorite Doctor, while Smith has lavished the actress with praise, so you can already see a bond forming between these three. How about a triple-Doctor story, eh, Chris Chibnall?
Speaking of whom, the new Doctor Who showrunner also gave some words to EW on the personality of the Thirteenth Doctor. As previously reported, Chibnall has said that she’s “warm, inclusive, energetic and is the greatest friend you’d ever want to have.” Sounds like a perfect description of the Doctor to us!
Whittaker, Chibnall and Gill, joined by co-star Tosin Cole and EP Matt Strevens, will be attending SDCC next week, where BBC America’s Doctor Who panel in Hall H is pencilled in for Thursday, July 19th – so expect a lot more season 11 news to drop at that point.