If there was any doubt that the casting of Jodie Whittaker would see a boost in interest around Doctor Who, it’s now been exterminated.
The BBC has released this statement a few days after the fact, revealing that the grand unveiling of Whittaker’s 13th Doctor is already doing gangbusters in the numbers game…
The specially filmed scene introducing Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor has been watched over sixteen million times online, it was revealed today. The minute-long specially shot scene debuted on BBC One after the Men’s Wimbledon final on Sunday and on BBC social media channels around the world.
The reveal has been watched 9.8 million times on the BBC One Facebook channel so far, with over 2.5 million views on the Doctor Who Twitter account – making it the most successful tweet of all time for Doctor Who.
Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, says: “To see the overwhelmingly positive response to the news that Jodie Whittaker will star as the Thirteenth Doctor, and know that the reveal has had over sixteen million views online so far, is just phenomenal. It’s exhilarating to see Doctor Who engaging with people on so many different levels and I cannot wait for the audience to see her in action on BBC ONE this Christmas.”
The teaser trailer, which debuted on Friday evening before the BBC One 6 O’Clock News, has been watched a further 4.8 million times online.
Jodie Whittaker will make her debut as the Doctor in this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special, when the current Doctor – played by Peter Capaldi – will regenerate.
Those are very impressive numbers, obviously. It’s topped every previous official Doctor Who Tweet! And now, the BBC will be hoping to convert these social media hits and video views into ratings gold.
The era of Jodie Whittaker – and the incoming Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall – will begin on Christmas day. This year’s yuletide spectacular will be the final episode starring Peter Capaldi, and the last one penned by incumbent showrunner Steven Moffat.
It remains to be seen how long we’ll have to wait for a full series from Whittaker and Chibnall, but, of course, we’ll bring you all the latest news as we hear it.