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.
The Doctor (Doctor Who)
In the early years of the franchise, the character was credited as "Doctor Who" or "Dr Who", up to the final story of season 18, "Logopolis" (1981), which was the last story featuring Tom Baker as the then-incumbent Fourth Doctor. Beginning with the debut of Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor in "Castrovalva" (1982), the character was credited as "The Doctor", which he had been referred to in-universe since the tenure of William Hartnell. This credit remained from season 19 to season 26. In the television movie, the trend is continued, with Paul McGann's debuting Eighth Doctor credited as "The Doctor" and Sylvester McCoy's out-going Seventh Doctor as "The Old Doctor". The 2005 resurrection of the programme credited Christopher Eccleston – playing the Ninth Doctor – as "Doctor Who" again in series 1. "The Parting of the Ways", featuring the Ninth Doctor's regeneration into the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) credits Tennant as "Doctor Who". The credit reverted to "The Doctor" for 2005's Christmas special "The Christmas Invasion" and all subsequent stories at Tennant's request. Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi and Jodie Whittaker have continued to be credited as "The Doctor".