Russell T Davies says Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor Who casting makes him “look old-fashioned”
But he’s very happy to be left in the past
The news that Jodie Whittaker has been cast as the first female Doctor in Doctor Who has been welcomed around the world, with many fans praising the show’s new direction as a progressive and interesting way to refresh the series.
And a lot of the credit for the move is going to new series boss Chris Chibnall, who has taken a step apparently never considered by his predecessors – a fact that former showrunner Russell T Davies is happy to acknowledge.
“I simply didn’t think of it,” the screenwriter (who rebooted and ran the series from 2005-2010) explained in a new interview with Doctor Who magazine when asked whether he thought of adding a female Doctor to his notably progressive era on the series.
“We did a very, very good job in 2005 but it was a different world back then.
“What Chris Chibnall is brilliantly doing is making me and Steven Moffat look old-fashioned. We look like the past. And that’s exactly what we are – we are the past.”
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And Davies said that he felt very positive about the show’s bright new future, with Whittaker impressing him in her TV appearances thus far.
“I don’t know Jodie, but whenever I’ve seen her interviewed on breakfast TV or whatever, she’s been really funny and vivid, not just spouting PR lines,” he said. “And that’s rare. That excited me.
“Someone who’s got an incredibly strong self is going to fit the Doctor perfectly.”
We’d say that’s quite the seal of approval from 'Doctor Who’s past' – and to think, it didn’t even need a Tardis to get here.
Doctor Who returns to BBC1 this Christmas
