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.
Doctor Who (series 10)
Steven Moffat wrote four episodes for the series. Other returning writers who have worked on this series and previous ones include Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Sarah Dollard, Jamie Mathieson, Peter Harness, Toby Whithouse and Mark Gatiss, as well as two new writers for the revived era of the programme, Mike Bartlett and Rona Munro, the latter of whom wrote "Survival", the final serial of the original classic era. Directors of the series included three who have previously worked on the show, and three brand new ones. Filming began on 20 June 2016 and lasted just over nine months, ending on 7 April 2017. The series received positive reviews from critics. The performances of Capaldi and Mackie were met with the most praise, as well as the writing, plots and themes of the episodes.