Jodie Whittaker on ’emotional’ moment she landed Doctor Who role

"I played it really cool. And cried."

Jodie Whittaker has opened up about the "incredibly emotional" moment she found out she landed the role of the Doctor in Doctor Who. The actress will be the first woman to play the role in the show's 54 year history - and told how it was a blessing and a curse to miss out on the online reaction. She told BBC 6 Music's Shaun Keaveny:

“I’ve missed a lot of the fun stuff, and probably the bad stuff, because I’m not on any type of social media and never have been. “If I get sent something it’s a mate screen-grabbing something, and they obviously edit. But there’s an amazing video of a young girl watching it and finding out that it’s [the Doctor] being played by a girl. "Seeing things like that are really amazing.”

The 35 year old was revealed as the new Doctor in a promotional video the BBC aired last month after the men's final at Wimbledon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1IczjLYCIM On the moment she found out she bagged the role, she said:  

“I didn't faint. I played it really cool. And cried. It was incredibly emotional. "My entire life as a child, all I wanted to do was to be an actor, and that was because I wanted to play pretend. "And [Doctor Who] is the ultimate. I’m about to play an alien, a Time Lord. And that, as a girl? Who knew?”

But the Broadchurch actress admitted that taking up the role of the Doctor had never seemed "in the realm of possibility, ever, growing up". She will make her debut as the Doctor in the Christmas special, when Peter Capaldi - the current Doctor - will regenerate after three seasons in the role. Featured Image via BBC One's Youtube