Jodie Whittaker thought she was “doing it all wrong” when became the Doctor

Jodie Whittaker was all nerves when she first took over for Peter Capaldi as the Doctor on Doctor Who.

Jodie Whittaker took the world by storm just a few years ago when she took on the role of the Doctor of Doctor Who, the first woman to ever play the character on the mainline series. I still remember waking up that morning in 2017, watching the big reveal and being blown away.

But while many of us were celebrating this incredible milestone for the franchise, Whittaker herself was feeling anxious about taking over from Peter Capaldi. Speaking to Guy Garvey on Finest Hour on BBC Radio 6 Music, Whittaker looked back on those early doubts.

"When I saw the episode, where Peter’s [Capaldi] Doctor regenerates into myself – we were midway through shooting and that was the first time in a long time that I’d been watching it – I hadn’t watched it to try and give myself that freedom to step on set.I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve done it wrong. I’ve done it wrong’ and we were only like six weeks in and I had seven months left. I came in to work I was like, ‘You should have told me, I’ve been doing it wrong!’ They said, ‘No, this is the point,’ like, ‘You know, you aren’t supposed to be doing what someone else did’. But all the energy of the Doctor and all the references and the Whovian kind of pearls are in there. And you then take it and run with it. And actually it’s much more freeing."

Indeed, there is no formula or algorithm on how to play the Doctor. Each actor makes it their own, which is what makes the character so special. No Doctor is quite like the ones before it, allowing Doctor Who to remain fresh throughout these decades.

Jodie Whittaker has certainly made this role. She’s funny, silly, wild and has her own unique sense of sass that makes her Doctor different than the ones before.

I also loved how she what she said when Garvey asked her about what historical figure she’d like to see in a future episode with her. Any guesses?

Marilyn Monroe.

That’s a great answer! I can just see how fascinating and fun it would be for this iconic, complicated Hollywood star to show up in an episode filled with space travel, aliens, and the like. “Instinctively, as a kid, I watched every Marilyn Monroe film,” Whittaker said. “I think I watched Some Like It Hot probably like a thousand times as a kid.”

"I just think the idea of… not necessarily being in her presence to have a conversation but just to watch someone who – the world gave her an identity but her own identity was very different, and I think that that is so sad and so poetic in a way, and kind of heart-breaking and kind of magical, and I think I’d like to see her."

That sort of story is right up Doctor Who’s alley, so I think Whittaker might be onto something here.

And with that, I’d like to remind you all that the Doctor Who holiday special is right around the corner, and promises to be filled with Daleks, Daleks, and more Daleks. I know this year has been all sorts of tough and crazy, but I’m hopeful that we will find some solace and comfort as Doctor Who transports us far, far away into its strange and wonderful reaches of space.

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h/t Radiotimes, Digital Spy