After being cast as the Doctor in Doctor Who, Jodie Whittaker had a lot of support from other actors who’d previously played the role, whether it was Matt Smith singing on her answering machine or David Tennant giving her some useful advice over the phone.

Advertisement

However, now that Whittaker has a series under her belt and is more used to the vagaries of Doctor Who filming, she says she has a new question for her predecessors – and it’s surprisingly heartwarming.

“I would ask, and I would genuinely want to ask them all — and I have that right! — I would ask them all, ‘What is the single most beautiful thing you have seen?’” Whittaker told 14-year-old Huddersfield-born fan Sofia Zaynab when she was posed the question at a special screening in New York.

“Because I know that there’s moments in this, and emotions in this, that kind of tap into something very profound for me.

“And for the Doctors that have worn these shoes for longer, I wonder if they have a moment that they distill. So, it would be that to them all.”

More like this

Frankly, it’s the sort of thing we’d never have thought of asking Whittaker herself – one might assume some of the more beautiful moments were added in postproduction – but it just proves how unique an experience it is to play the Doctor. Clearly, only someone who'd walked in the shoes of a Time Lord would even think of such a question.

Now all we need is for the other Doctors to indulge her request. Answers on a time-travelling postcard, please.

Advertisement

Doctor Who continues on BBC1 on Sundays

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement