The Thirteenth Doctor’s era is drawing to a close, with Jodie Whittaker set to bow out of the TARDIS in 2022. Just this week, the actress – who took over from Peter Capaldi in 2017 – filmed her last scenes on Doctor Who. Given that the current Doctor’s final scene is always their regeneration into the next one, fans might be thinking this means No. 14 has secretly already been cast.
However, Whittaker has now clarified that’s not the case. At least, not that she knows of. The star will appear on tonight’s episode of The Graham Norton Show to hype up her incoming final season, a six-part storyline subtitled Flux. As reported by Metro, Whittaker confirms on the show that she has filmed her regeneration, but she’s as clueless over who will take over from her as the rest of us.
“They are never going to tell me who it is,” Whittaker says. “We filmed some scenes, but the new Doctor wasn’t there. I wasn’t there for Peter (Capaldi), and I only met him months later when I passed him in the street!”
Assuming Whittaker isn’t just being kept in the dark and the Fourteenth Doctor really hasn’t been cast yet, the delay is likely to do with the fact that showrunner Chris Chibnall is exiting the series along with his star. Former EP Russell T. Davies is due to return to Who to replace him. Davies – who helmed the show from 2005-10 – probably won’t get started on hunting for his Doctor until next year. His team has got time to find the right person for the job and film their brief post-regeneration debut, as Whittaker’s final episode won’t air until late 2022.
In the meantime, Thirteen is back this Halloween alongside her friends Yaz (Mandip Gill) and Dan (John Bishop) for Doctor Who: Flux, which features classic monsters the Sontarans and the Weeping Angels, premiering Sunday, October 31st. Three additional specials will then air throughout next year before Davies’ second era kicks off in 2023.