Doctor Who fans couldn’t be happier Jodie Whittaker is the new Doctor

And the new lead of Doctor Who is… Jodie Whittaker. The Broadchurch actor will replace Peter Capaldi as The Doctor in this year’s Christmas special.

After the Wimbledon Men’s Final, which Roger Federer won in straight sets, the BBC announced Whittaker would be the 13th actor, and the first woman, to play the Time Lord.

So, how did fans react to the unveiling? Well, it marked the end of a long day for Whovians…

Firstly, fans had to sit through an ENTIRE tennis match to find who’d be taking control of the Tardis.

It's cruel to force geeks to watch sport in order to find out who the new doctor is.#WimbledonFinal #doctor13 #DoctorWho

— Dana Robinson (@moaning_oldlady) July 16, 2017

Never ever have i watch Tennis. Yet here I am streaming winbledon's final. #DoctorWho #13thDoctor #cantwait pic.twitter.com/9XiuSAV1Ft

— Marie (@mp_lafee) July 16, 2017

Hands up if you've ever felt personally victimised by the #BBC for making you sit through what you don't wanna watch to find out #doctor13 pic.twitter.com/8Z6BU1N7V6

— Rosie (@rosieking__) July 16, 2017

And the tennis couldn’t even distract fans from the impending announcement as cameras kept cutting to former Doctor David Tennant in the crowd.

"You're coming back as #DoctorWho aren't you?"
"Haha, yeah, but don't tell anyone"#WimbledonFinal #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/9SmQeHOtZV

— Guy Lambert (@GRALambo) July 16, 2017

David tennant at #Wimbledon so we can rule him out right? #doctor13 #DoctorWho13 #DrWho #doctorwho @thepulseE pic.twitter.com/GCYmruu3gh

— Graham Leslie (@HeronBlue84) July 16, 2017

Many were begging for the final between Roger Federer and Marin Cilic to be over as soon as possible…

#DoctorWho fans willing Federer to finish this match as quickly as possible… #Doctor13 pic.twitter.com/oMdyTivSqW

— Tom Beasley (@TomJBeasley) July 16, 2017

Just patiently waiting for #Wimbledon to end so we can find out about the next #DoctorWho ! #DoctorWho13 (gif from #Angel s1) pic.twitter.com/t1b5n71UmG

— Tricia Grace (@sapphiremoon01) July 16, 2017

While other fans kept their mind occupied imagining how the unveiling would go down…

Hope the #DoctorWho reveal is EVERYONE who’s been linked to it, running towards the TARDIS key. First one to grab it gets the part. pic.twitter.com/fpDys6WVVG

— Paul Lang (@rudemrlang) July 16, 2017

Sue Barker will emerge from the #wimbledon trophy as a holographic projection and yell "I AM THE DOCTOR!" #DoctorWho #doctor13 #doctorwho13

— Pete (@peteturton85) July 16, 2017

Finally, Federer won the match and fans were glued to screens…

Doctor Who fans.. #doctor13 pic.twitter.com/TarX2N3ymW

— Kate ???????????????????? (@KateHaus11) July 16, 2017

The suspense is killing me! #Doctor13 #DoctorWho13 #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/yldRsFEah6

— Andy (@AndyScrivana) July 16, 2017

And waited…

This post-match analysis is my second favourite #DoctorWho hiatus.#Doctor13 pic.twitter.com/TaNZMm2ieC

— Benjamin Cook (@benjamin_cook) July 16, 2017

The Fans Who Waited #DoctorWho #Wimbledon #Doctor13

— Paul Jones (@Jonesvision) July 16, 2017

When I see there's more talking #doctor13 pic.twitter.com/heOzgOFdnU

— Tuğrul (@TurkTug297) July 16, 2017

And then it happened. Over 35 minutes after Federer won the match, the BBC dropped a video of a hooded character walking through the woods, Tardis key materialising in their hands…

Meet the Thirteenth Doctor #DoctorWho #Doctor13 pic.twitter.com/txHGz9tJEe

— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) July 16, 2017

The Whoniverse then gave out a collective cheer of “yes! It’s a woman!”

LADY DOCTOR WHO. WHAT AN ANNOUNCEMENT. IM SO HAPPY. THE FIRST FEMALE DOCTOR. WE'RE MAKING HISTORY.#doctor13 #doctorwho pic.twitter.com/JXqkRhzX4v

— parris (@supernovalester) July 16, 2017

It's a woman! IT'S A WOMAN! #Doctor13 #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/QLpCM5PMua

— Laura Tisdall (@LauraTisdall) July 16, 2017

As a man who has been watching #doctorwho since the Tom Baker era, let me just say a woman being #DoctorWho13 is… pic.twitter.com/2tU9hQ6hxT

— Scott Springer (@scott_springer) July 16, 2017

And better still, it’s Whittaker, an actress the Twitterverse greeted with high praise…

The new #DoctorWho BBC reveal! #jodiewhittaker Wow! Such a great actress. In safe hands. pic.twitter.com/NrDSP1uKc7

— Edward Behan (@EdwardBehan) July 16, 2017

Jodie Whitaker is an exceptional actress and a brilliant comedienne – very good choice, Who-bosses! #doctorwho @bbcdoctorwho

— Benjamin L Harris, Writer (@benjaminwriter) July 16, 2017

Jodie Whittaker is a fantastic actress. I’ll be interested to see her take on #DoctorWho. Man? Woman? None of that matters. #Doctor13

— Sara (@sara_kath) July 16, 2017

Next episode can’t come soon enough.

Doctor Who returns to BBC1 this Christmas