‘Doctor Who’: David Tennant Reveals Advice He Gave To Jodie Whittaker

Growing up, kids often find themselves wondering what it would be like to become a doctor, but only a few ever become THE Doctor. With the revival of Doctor Who under BBC, the sci-fi icon has been given new life, and it turns out a former star on the show handed out some surprising advice to Doctor Who‘s first-ever Time Lady.

Recently, David Tennant sat down with The Guardian to talk over his recent work, and it was there the Scottish actor opened up about his time as the Tenth Doctor. When asked whether he gave any advice to Jodie Whittaker before the starlet debuted her Thirteenth Doctor, Tennant admitted he warned the actress about the role’s notoriety.

“To certain people, you’ll always be the Doctor, which is a wonderful, humbling thing but it does mean accepting an adjustment to your life,” the actor explained.

“You have to be ready for that. It’s a unique experience and there’s a very small support group who know how that feels. One would never give advice about how to play a part. The acting bit is what you go to drama school for. All you can help with is the other stuff.”

Continuing, Tennant went on to praise Whittaker for her take on the Doctor, and he made sure to beat back the initial controversy which sparked over Doctor Who‘s decision to feature a female Doctor.

“Jodie was such an exciting choice. I’m hugely proud of how successful she’s been. What did you think of the backlash against the last series being too PC? Is it possible to be too politically correct? What does that even mean? Inclusivity has always been one of Doctor Who‘s strengths.”

While some fans might have taken issue with Whittaker’s Doctor at first, the consensus about the Thirteenth Doctor is good. In fact, the character’s debut season scored the highest average ratings of any Doctor Who season since 2010. Whittaker’s first ten episodes drew in an average of 7.7 million people, a number that pits it against the first season starring Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor. Now, fans will need to wait patiently for Whittaker to return to TV as the Doctor, but they will need some serious patience. The twelfth season of Doctor Who isn’t slated to air until 2020, but showrunner Chris Chibnall tried to appease fans with an energetic rallying cry.

“We’re off again!” Chibnall said in the season’s announcement. “Well we never actually stopped – as Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor and friends have been winning the hearts of families across the nation this autumn, we’ve been busy with a whole new set of action-packed adventures for the Thirteenth Doctor. We adore making this show and have been blown away by the response from audiences, so we can’t wait to bring more scares, more monsters and more Bradley Walsh, Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole to BBC One. Brilliant!”

So, which Doctor is your go-to? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Doctor Who season 12 is expected to premiere sometime in 2020.