With Doctor Who having been a massive failure since the introduction of the 13th Doctor, in a tale that is quickly becoming as old as time itself, Jodie Whittaker blames fans for the show’s failure.
Under showrunner Chris Chibnall and with Whittaker as the Timelord, Doctor Who‘s viewership plummeted. The downward trend continued with the 15th Doctor, which has seen the worst ratings in the show’s 60-year history.
What does Jodie Whittaker say?
Via the UK’s Telegraph, Jodie Whittaker goes so far as to blame the male audience saying boys didn’t look up to a female Doctor Who.
“It’s never been questioned that I had to look up to men,” she told The Sunday Times, referencing how as a young girl she liked Doctor Who. “So it was fascinating that for some, we [women] could not be role models.”
She seems to be arguing that her being a woman shouldn’t have affected how audiences, particularly boys, viewed the Doctor as a role model.
“The Doctor is still the Doctor. But also, I was playing an alien. My gender was not the issue,” Whittaker added.
Whittaker continues recalling what she says was backlash – “really loud rage” – from a “noisy few” adding that she was “sent into a spiral” when she thought about how her performance may affect others playing the Doctor following her because she was a woman.
“If Peter [Capaldi] hadn’t been good as the Doctor, it would only have reflected on him,” she continued. “Whereas I felt that if I wasn’t very good at this, I’ve f’d it for other actors. I think it’s completely unacceptable if that was the case, but that’s how I felt.”
Who’s really to blame?
While the blame game is being played and the fans are the target (the 15th Doctor has told fans not to watch), the general consensus amongst fans is the stories are simply awful. Instead of focusing on a quality story, which Doctor Who is known for, starting with Jodie Whittaker, it became all about the agenda where the series was retconned for DEI and woke purposes to “send the message.”
Well, fans received the message loud and clear and have stopped watching.
Ncuti Gatwa rumored to have quit
Regarding the 15th Doctor, it’s been claimed that Ncuti Gatwa has quit Doctor Who and already filmed his regeneration exit scene. There is also doubt the show will continue on Disney+ after its second season.
A spokesman for the BBC has denied cancellation rumors:
This story is incorrect, Doctor Who has not been shelved. As we have previously stated, the decision on season 3 will be made after season 2 airs. The deal with Disney+ was for 26 episodes – and exactly half of those still have to transmit. And as for the rest, we never comment on the Doctor and future storylines.
