‘Doctor Who’: Jodie Whitaker Demanded, Received Equal Pay to Peter Capaldi

Jodie Whitaker will be the first female lead in Doctor Who and she’ll be paid exactly as much as her male predecessor.

Speaking backstage at the National Television Awards in the United Kingdom, Whitaker told news outlets that she made sure she will be receiving the same compensation for her work on Doctor Who as outgoing star Peter Capaldi.

“It’s an incredibly important time and the notion [of equal pay] should be supported,” Whitaker said. “It’s a bit of a shock that it’s a surprise to everyone that it should be supported! I know I do not speak just on behalf of the women here, I speak on behalf of the men and the women.”

Whitaker added that, so far, she’s quite enjoying the work that she’s being equally paid for.

“Yeah, it’s great,” she said. “I love it, I absolutely love it, yeah. It’s amazing! I get to see all the best places!”

Doctor Who has featured 12 different leading men in its more than 50-year history. Whitaker will mark the first time that the science fiction hero has regenerated into a woman. That regeneration and Whitaker’s first appearance as the Thirteenth Doctor happened during the 2017 Doctor Who Christmas Special, “Twice Upon a Time.”

“Twice Upon a Time” was also the final Doctor Who episode for Capaldi and for showrunner Steven Moffat. While it’s somewhat bittersweet to say goodbye to the show’s star and showrunner on Christmas Day, Moffat told ComicBook.com in an interview he believes fans are much more excited to welcome the newcomers.

“I mean, truthfully, I think the audience is far more excited about welcoming in the new than sad about waving on the old,” he said. “That’s the truth of it, I think. And I think that’s how I want them to feel, I want them to be excited about the future, not lingering on the past. We’ve had our day. And it was fantastic fun, but now it’s time, more than anything, to want a new Doctor and a new showrunner and see a whole new, glittering future for the show, that’s what I want to happen.”

Chris Chibnall, the creator of Broadchurch, will replace Moffat as series showrunner when Doctor Who Season 11 premieres in 2018.

[H/T] Digital Spy