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.
UNIT
The Doctor, the main protagonist of "Doctor Who", is a member of UNIT. In "Aliens of London", after reading up about the Doctor during his twelve-month absence, Mickey Smith tells Rose Tyler that the Ninth Doctor knows UNIT because "he's worked for them". In "The Sontaran Stratagem", Colonel Mace tells the Tenth Doctor, "Technically speaking, you're still on staff." In "The Day of the Doctor", the Eleventh Doctor tells Clara Oswald that he works for UNIT and that UNIT is his "job". In "Death in Heaven" (2014), Kate Stewart describes the Twelfth Doctor as "technically" being "on the payroll".