Doctor Who (2015)

I'd like to say that having a female Doctor is a bold move but, to be honest, it would have been more bold for them to have picked a male one.

Enough of all the box-ticking comment nonsense - who were you expecting, Nadiya from Bake Off?

What a disappointing response from some members here. Box-ticking? Is she gay? I've always thought of TV Forum to be a fairly open minded and accepting place - after all, our unifying interest here is the very niche field of television presentation, which isn't exactly a mainstream hobby!

Today's decision from the BBC is a bold move but Jodie Whittaker is a fantastic actress and I am optimistic of things to come. Anyone who thinks that the decision is wrong and that it panders to the 'PC brigade' or anything ridiculous like that should take a long hard look at themselves.

Well said. My Twitter timeline, including a lot of huge Doctor Who fans, is overwhelmingly positive.

What's bold about applying a tick to a box? Was she chosen because the powers that be objectively decided she was best suited or because they thought it would hopefully appear cutting edge if the next DW was a female? .....Hmmmm

Im delighted, particularly with the poor ratings of the last season the show was in much need of a reboot. If the show is to continue it needs to reinvent itself so a good decision in my view. When Hartnell left Troughton had a massive job to undertake - many said that reboot wouldn't work - thank goodness it did. We have kind of come full circle - a total reinvention of a popular show. I'm looking forward to it.

You have to laugh at the people kicking up a fuss because The Doctor has to be male, and it's unrealistic to have a female Doctor now. It's a show about a bloody time travelling alien, where was it realistic to begin with?

Fantastic decision in my opinion. Jodie is a great actress, her performance as Beth in Broadchurch was amazing.

Doctor Who as a show is nearly dead. The ratings are barely passing 5m. This is the kick up the arse the show desperately needed.

All of the people complaining will still watch, without a doubt.

Speak for yourself.

I don't think anyone has said the decision is wrong. I don't care if she is gay, I am gay, it was just a conversation.

I think in today's world it's perfectly acceptable to discuss how the choice was made and what possible reasons were behind it without being suggestively accused of homophobia or sexism.

She can be so chosen and it still be a bold move, in light of (possible) public reaction.

Something had to be changed and the casting of a female actress as the lead has done that. Personally I would have preferred Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

I'm no fan so I stand to be corrected but wasn't there supposedly a limit of 13 on the number of doctors, so is she the last?

To be honest the regeneration (not the casting) does seem to be a final throw of the dice as I think any other primetime drama who'd seen ratings plummet in the way Doctor Who's ratings have over the last few years would have been axed.

I mean, to be honest this seems a funny comment given that you've see neither actor play the role yet!



All of that has been addressed in previous seasons - and equally, do you realistically expect the BBC to end the show simply because of a plot device introduced many decades ago?

In fact actually, this will be the 14th 'incarnation' of the Doctor.