Jodie Whittaker reckons starring in Doctor Who has helped her time-travel back to her twenties by making her feel 15 years younger.
As she makes her final outing as the 13th Doctor, the actress, who became the first female to land the role in 2017, said the Doctor’s energy and excitement spreads into her real life.
“Before I played the Doctor I spent quite a lot of time playing people who lost children, people whose husband had been disabled - you don’t realise how much that emotional trauma leaves you on the edge of upset when you’ve been doing it for 12-hour days,” she explained.
“With Doctor Who, there was heartbreak, there was fear and there was loss, but my overriding emotion was excitement. That really fed into my evening and my weekend and my year.
“I feel like it’s knocked 15 years off me because I’ve been so energised.” Jodie, 40, admits she has taken some souvenirs from the set including her costume, sonic and even a Cyberman.
She has also nabbed the mini-TARDIS from the police box which spins and lights up when the spacecraft flies.
Jodie, who has just given birth to her second child, says: “I snapped it off!”
In the 90-minute TV climax to her five-year tenure, which airs on Sunday, Jodie’s Doctor does battle with all of her worst foes - the Daleks, Cybermen and the Master, played by Sacha Dhawan.
Show runner Chris Chibnall said the special - featuring guest roles for ’80s companions Tegan and Ace (Sophie Aldred and Janet Fielding) - will be “epic”.
He says: “It was a chance to have the past, present and the future all in one episode and pack it full of surprises.”
Mandip Gill, who plays Yaz, said filming the farewell was emotional. She says: “They were real tears, it was just beautiful.”
At the end of the special, Jodie’s Doctor regenerates - with the next time Lord expected to be played by David Tennant.
- The Power of the Doctor, BBC1, Sunday October 23, 7.30pm.
