The BBC will be keeping Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor on their cult classic, Doctor Who.

“Yes, I’m doing another season,” Whittaker told  Entertainment Weekly. “That might be a massive exclusive that I’m not supposed to say, but it’s unhelpful for me to say [I don’t know] because it would be a massive lie! [Laughs] I absolutely adore it. At some point, these shoes are going to be handed on, but it’s not yet. I’m clinging on tight!”

Showrunner and writer Chris Chibnall is confirmed to be returning for the 13th season as well, and it’s assumed that Bradley Walsh, Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole will all be reprising their roles.

In the 12th season, the cast and crew were all new, and spent much of it teaching history to young viewers (meeting Rosa Parks, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, and exploring the birth of Pakistan), but the new season has surprises in store and will be going much bigger.

In an interview with RadioTimes, Jodie Whittaker said that “ .. it doesn’t feel like we’re regurgitating anything that we’ve done before. I feel like we’re treading new ground for each of the character journeys, and the development of everybody’s storylines.

“I felt more comfortable, because playing it during my second season is obviously less nerve-wracking than day one of season one. Now, it’s second skin already.”

“It feels like a step up,” Chibnall agreed. “It’s probably more ambitious than last year. Scale, storytelling, everything. I would say we are aiming to keep moving forward and up. There are bigger moments this year.”

Doctor Who seasons 13 and 14 are definitely happening. They’ll continue to air on BBC America, but will be made available on HBO Max as well, along with all previous 12 seasons of Doctor Who. 

The next episode of Doctor Who season 12 airs this Sunday on BBC America.


A reminder: ‘all previous 12 seasons’ does not mean all previous seasons. To save on the budget, some of the earliest Dr. Who episodes erased and re-used videotape. Some episodes, especially from the 60’s and 70’s, have been lost or destroyed, and cannot be retrieved without a time machine.

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Susan Macdonald

Susan Macdonald is the author of the children's book "R is for Renaissance Faire", as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in "Alternative Truths", "Swords and Sorceress #30", Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, "Cat Tails" "Under Western Stars", and "Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid". Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio's web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions,  Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.