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Doctor Who: Jodie Whittaker on TARDIS Takeaways; Chibnall Talks Future

If you're a long-time fan of the BBC's Doctor Who, then you know how weird that time is when you know that one Doctor is leaving (with the showrunner) and another is coming aboard (with a new showrunner): it's like living in two timelines. Which is pretty appropriate for the show, now that we think about it. So this afternoon finds The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Yaz (Mandip Gill), and Dan (John Bishop) confronting the "Legend of the Sea Devils" in what is the second of Whittaker & showrunner Chris Chibnall's final three episodes before wrapping things up this fall with the centenary special. From there, Russell T. Davies returns to take over as showrunner (with a new Doctor along for the run) for Series 14 being eyed for Fall 2023 (with rumblings of some "happenings" that may happen before then). So to help prepare for both an ending and a new beginning, the BBC released a one-on-one featurette with Whittaker addressing the "takeaways" (mostly literal and some figurative) for her journey if she had her own TARDIS as well as where she would head out to (and the monster she would least like to encounter).

doctor who
Image: BBC

Here's a look at Whittaker talking time & space travel, followed by a look a what's ahead with this weekend's "Legend of the Sea Devils" and some additional thoughts from Chibnall:

Written by showrunner Chris Chibnall and Ella Road directed by Haolu Wang., and starring Arthur Lee as Ji-Hun & Marlowe Chan-Reeves as Ying Ki, here's a look at the official trailer for "Legend of the Sea Devils":

"Legend of the Sea Devils": In a swashbuckling special adventure, the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Yaz (Mandip Gill) and Dan (John Bishop) come face to fin with one of the Doctor's oldest adversaries: the Sea Devils. Why has legendary pirate queen Madam Ching come searching for a lost treasure? What terrifying forces lurk beneath the oceans of the nineteenth century? And did Yaz really have to dress Dan up as a pirate?

Chibnall opened up to the RadioTimes.com about if he will pull a Davies and return at some point, why it's important for a showrunner to make their own mark on the long-running series, and if he believes Davies will follow up on some of the bigger additions to the show's lore that he added during his time:

Chibnall Isn't Shy Addressing If He Will Ever Return to "Doctor Who": "Absolutely never again! Clear red line, final script. I never expected to come back after working with Steven [Moffat], really, and I'd turned it down a couple of times after that. I never thought I'd be offered the job and built into that is why I wanted to keep it to a very specific three-series thing. Supervising teenagers' revision is taking up my time now and there's lots of other things to write! I will happily sit back and watch. For all that it's been gorgeous all along, now it's like, 'Oh I remember this. This is what real life is like!'"

Chibnall: "Oh, I Fully Expect Russell to Ignore It!": "You're not carrying a vase across a room – you've got to get in there and say what you want about the show, the character, and the world. It's one of the few drama series without a written bible, and every era contains a contradiction or left-turn from what has come before. Any future showrunner will ignore it or run with it," Chibnall explained when asked if he thought Davies would follow up on the things he brought to the show's lore.

Chibnall on Why Davies' Return is Good News for "Doctor Who" Fans: "Everybody should have a big smile on their face. Russell is one of the elite showrunners and 'Who' is very lucky to have him, especially off the back of 'It's a Sin,' one of the greatest shows of all time. For him to have incredible ideas and passion for it, to want to take it forward again – that's fab. Nobody has a greater love for "Doctor Who.'"


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Ray FlookAbout Ray Flook

Serving as Television Editor since 2018, Ray began five years earlier as a contributing writer/photographer before being brought onto the core BC team in 2017.
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