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 2005 series, the Ninth Doctor's age is stated in publicity materials as 900 years, and in "Aliens of London", he says, "Nine hundred years of time and space, and I've never been slapped by someone's mother." Rose follows up by asking him if he is 900 years old, and he replies affirmatively. He restates this in "The Empty Child" as "Nine hundred years of phone box travel and it's the only thing left that surprises me". In "Voyage of the Damned" (2007), the Tenth Doctor states that he is 903 years of age, the first time since "Time and the Rani" that an exact number has been stated in dialogue; previously, the Master indicated the Doctor's age to be about 900 in "The Sound of Drums"/"Last of the Time Lords" (2007) story arc.