Jodie Whittaker
On 16 July 2017, Whittaker was announced as the Thirteenth Doctor in the science fiction television series "Doctor Who"; she is the first woman to play the title role. She had previously worked with incoming "Doctor Who" showrunner Chris Chibnall on "Broadchurch". She admitted that she had to "tell a lot of lies" after being cast to keep the information secret and used the codeword "Clooney" when talking about the role. She urged fans not to be afraid of her gender, saying ""Doctor Who" represents everything that's exciting about change. The fans have lived through so many changes, and this is only a new, different one, not a fearful one." Chibnall said that he always wanted a woman for the part and that Whittaker was their first choice.
Stuart Humphryes
In 2017 - at the suggestion of actor and screenwriter Mark Gatiss - Humphryes created a two-part web series entitled 'The Almost Doctors'. It incorporated newly recorded voice work by Jonathon Carley and Jake Dudman to chronicle the list of actors shortlisted for the role of Doctor Who in the 1960s and '70s. The series employed a combination of editing, CGI and video compositing techniques to lift actors from archive film and place them into contemporary episodes of Doctor Who. In June 2017 the BBC's promoted the series, referring to Humphryes as a "colourisation and compositing legend" with BBC America promoting episode two as "exceptional". Episode one was also recommended as a monthly pick in Doctor Who Magazine issue 514 and episode two was recommended in Doctor Who Magazine issue 512.