Jodie Whittaker’s absence from Doctor Who annual fuels rumors

The cover for the 2022 issue of the Doctor Who Annual doesn’t feature Jodie Whittaker, and it’s causing quite a stir in fan circles. Mirror.Co.UK reports that the cover of this yearly Doctor Who magazine has always featured an image of the Doctor for the entirety of its 57-year history, so the omission is highly questionable.

Does this confirm that Whittaker is leaving the role of the Doctor after the upcoming thirteenth season of the show? Rumors have been circulating for a while, although no formal announcement has been made. Still, seeing the lonely TARDIS on the cover of the latest annual has the rumor mill turning:

When is Jodie Whittaker leaving Doctor Who?

It’s hard to gauge what this news means because Whittaker has appeared on the cover of the Doctor Who annual for the past three years. Thanks to the pandemic, filming was delayed, and so the image of the TARDIS in lieu of Whittaker could be a nod to the fact that there was a gap between seasons that hadn’t been anticipated, thus saving a spot for her to appear on the next cover.

That said, one of Mirror’s sources emphatically believes that this is a sign: “Every Doctor Who annual since 1964 has featured the current Doctor so this is a big departure for them. It’s surely no coincidence that it’s happened just as she’s on the way out.”

Whittaker’s current season started filming in November 2020 and was cut from 10 episodes to eight because of production delays. Her regeneration was expected at the end of this current season, but given that the show is still filming, some insiders believe there is more to come. “As ever bosses are staying tight-lipped about what they have planned, but with filming still ongoing they clearly have plans for episodes to be playing out much later into 2022 – so there’s still more to come for Jodie’s Doctor,” one said.

Whether it’s a slight, a sign of Whittaker’s or just happenstance, it makes us curious to see season 13, which is set to premiere later this year.

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