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.
Regeneration (Doctor Who)
There is also inconsistency as to whether the Doctor can recognise his own future incarnations. In the original series, the Doctors usually have no difficulty recognising one another (in "The Three Doctors", the First, Second, and Third Doctors all know one another on sight. However, in "The Five Doctors", the First Doctor does not recognise the Fifth Doctor as himself and needs to be introduced by the Fifth as his fourth regeneration. In "Time Crash", after the TARDIS is at different points in its own timeline merge due to downed shields, the Fifth Doctor spends much of the mini-episode believing that the Tenth was merely a fan who had somehow gotten into his TARDIS, having somehow altered the 'desktop theme'; the Tenth Doctor constantly tries to convince his younger self that he is his future self, only doing so by using a predestination paradox to cancel out a universe-destroying black hole with a supernova by blowing up the TARDIS. When the Tenth and the Eleventh Doctor meet each other in "The Day of the Doctor," the Tenth Doctor appears to sceptically recognise his successor, yet he appears to be fully convinced only after both compare their respective sonic screwdrivers. The War Doctor on the other hand is initially completely oblivious to meet two of his future regenerations (initially mistaking them for future companions), again being convinced by their sonic screwdrivers. When the First Doctor meets the Twelfth Doctor, the First Doctor sees his future self as another Time Lord come to take back his TARDIS and requires convincing as to otherwise.