'Doctor Who' Star Jodie Whittaker Surprises Young Fan With Cystic Fibrosis

Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker gave a once in a lifetime surprise to a special Doctor Who fan.

For the BBC's annual Children in Need telethon, Whittaker surprised the young fan named Anna, who lives with cystic fibrosis, by appearing on her television screen and delivering a message directly to her, inviting Anna and her brother out to the Doctor Who set for a visit.

As seen in the video above, Anna arrives and is greeted by Mandip Gill, the actress who plays companion Yasmin Khan on Doctor Who. Gill gives Anna and her brother a tour of the TARDIS before co-star Tosin Cole, who plays Ryan Sinclair, brings Anna to take a look at the show's props and monsters. Anna is even presented with her own version of Whittaker's Doctor Who costume.

Anna is wearing the costume when Whittaker joins her for a talk and photos. They discuss how happy Anna is to see a woman playing the Doctor, and Whittaker reflects on how she didn't have that kind of female role model when she was growing up.

You can watch the entire segment in the video above.

Whittaker was announced as the new Doctor in July 2017 and has spoken about what it means to her to play the role.

"It's more than an honor to play the Doctor," Whittaker said in an interview. "It means remembering everyone I used to be while stepping forward to embrace everything the Doctor stands for: hope. I can't wait.

"It feels completely overwhelming, as a feminist, as a woman, as an actor, as a human, as someone who wants to continually push themselves and challenge themselves, and not be boxed in by what you're told you can and can't be. It feels incredible."

As the first woman to play the role, Whittaker made sure that she would be paid the same as her predecessor, Twelfth Doctor actor Peter Capaldi.

"It's an incredibly important time and the notion [of equal pay] should be supported," Whittaker said at an event earlier this year. "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."

What do you think of Whittaker's surprise for Anna? Let us know in the comments section!

Doctor Who airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on BBC America.