Doctor Who has always been a boundary-pushing show, but one of the series producers has opened up about not thinking certain casting choices were actually innovative. In July 2017, Jodie Whittaker was announced as the Thirteenth Doctor, making her the first woman to play the beloved role. There was controversy surrounding her casting, with some people unhappy with the fact that the Doctor morphs genders.
In May 2022, it was revealed that Doctor Who chose Ncuti Gatwa to portray the Fifteenth Doctor, making him the first person of color and openly queer individual to do so. There were people who criticized the casting choice as a stunt in order to seem “woke.” Whittaker played the Doctor in Doctor Who from 2018 to 2022, while Gatwa appeared in the show from 2023 to 2025.
Producer Jane Tranter, who has worked on many other popular shows in addition to Doctor Who, including Succession, Rome, and The Night Of, had an exclusive chat with InTouch. During this interview, Tranter discussed her admiration for Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies.
Tranter also revealed during the interview that she doesn’t agree that people should think of casting Whittaker or Gatwa as groundbreaking, because she believes a Doctor who isn’t male or white shouldn’t feel out of the ordinary to anyone. Check out Tranter’s comments below:
“I like the fact Doctor Who can touch on sensitive issues and do it in an entertaining and engaging way, but that’s how Russell T Davies writes. I also don’t see the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the first female Doctor or casting Ncuti Gatwa as the first Black Doctor as some bold step in the culture wars. It’s simply as it should be. It’s normal.”
What This Means For Doctor Who
During the finale of season 15 of Doctor Who on Disney+, the Doctor regenerates into a body that resembles Rose (Billie Piper), a former companion of the Doctor. This indicates that Piper will portray the sixteenth Doctor in upcoming seasons.
This notion insinuates that Whittaker and Gatwa’s casting has opened the doors for more diversity, since Piper would be the second woman to play the universally adored character. Although, based on Tranter’s comments, viewers should not be surprised by people of all genders and races being cast as the Doctor.
Doctor Who is one of the greatest sci-fi TV shows ever made, in part because of every actor portraying the Doctor. The idea of people being upset by diverse casting in Doctor Who is extremely wrong because diversity in media is important in order for all audience members to be equally represented. However, Tranter’s comments about the casting being something that should just be normalized also resonate.
It shouldn’t have to feel like a special thing for diversity to appear in the media because it should already be guaranteed to be there. But, since the world still has a long way to go when it comes to perceptions of others, it is important to make sure casting is diverse.
Doctor Who
- Release Date
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2005 – 2022-00-00
- Directors
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Graeme Harper, Euros Lyn, Douglas Mackinnon, Jamie Magnus Stone, Charles Palmer, Rachel Talalay, Joe Ahearne, James Strong, Jamie Childs, Saul Metzstein, Toby Haynes, Wayne Che Yip, Nick Hurran, Richard Clark, James Hawes, Daniel Nettheim, Colin Teague, Keith Boak, Azhur Saleem, Adam Smith, Andrew Gunn, Nida Manzoor, Lawrence Gough, Paul Murphy
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Jodie Whittaker
The Doctor
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