Jodie Auckland Whittaker (born 17 June 1982) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles on television as Beth Latimer in Broadchurch (2013–2017) and the Thirteenth Doctor in Doctor Who (2017–2022; 2025).
She came to prominence in her 2006 feature film debut Venus, for which she received British Independent Film Award and Satellite Award nominations. She was later praised for her roles in the science fiction film Attack the Block (2011) and the Black Mirror episode "The Entire History of You" (2011). She was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress for her role in Toxic Town (2025).
In 2017, Whittaker became the thirteenth and first female lead actor to play the Doctor in Doctor Who and formally assumed the role from Peter Capaldi in "Twice Upon a Time". Whittaker starred in three series and five specials beginning with "The Woman Who Fell to Earth" in 2018 and concluding in 2022 with "The Power of the Doctor". She returned to the role in 2025 with a cameo appearance in the series 15 finale "The Reality War".
Early life Jodie Auckland Whittaker was born on 17 June 1982 in Skelmanthorpe, West Yorkshire. She is the second child and only daughter of Yvonne (née Auckland) and Adrian Whittaker.Watch Jodie Whittaker explain to Hollywood stars on the Graham Norton Show why she is a 'Shat lass', Yorkshire Live, 29 September 2018 She attended Scissett Middle School and Shelley High School before training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 2005 with an acting gold medal.
Career Early career Whittaker made her professional debut in The Storm at Shakespeare's Globe in 2005. She has since worked in film, television, radio and theatre. In 2007, she stood in at short notice for an unwell Carey Mulligan in the Royal Court's production of The Seagull, and appeared in a fundraising play at the Almeida Theatre.
In Whittaker's first major role, she co-starred as Jessie in the film Venus (2006), receiving British Independent Film Award and Satellite Award nominations. Her radio credits at that time included a 2008 adaptation of Blinded by the Sun by Stephen Poliakoff and playing Lydia Bennett in Unseen Austen, an original drama by Judith French. In 2009, she worked on the films Ollie Kepler's Expanding Purple World and Perrier's Bounty, as well as the BBC Two drama Royal Wedding and the short film Wish 143, which was nominated for Best Live Action Short Film at the 83rd Academy Awards.
In the early 2010s, Whittaker co-starred in the anthology series Accused (2010) and the adaptation of Sarah Waters's novel The Night Watch, followed by the role of Ffion in the Black Mirror episode "The Entire History of You". In film, she starred in the cult science fiction comedy horror Attack the Block, as well as in projects like The Kid (2010), One Day (2011), Hello Carter (2013) and Good Vibrations (2013). She also returned to the stage in the contemporary staging of the classic Greek tragedy Antigone, playing the title role opposite Christopher Eccleston as Creon.
In 2014, she appeared as Sandra Grimes in the reality-based spy drama miniseries The Assets and as Anna in the BAFTA-nominated short film Emotional Fusebox, later reprising the role in its feature-length version, Adult Life Skills, and earning nominations in the Best Actress category at both the British Independent Film Awards and the National Film Awards. She also took one of the lead roles in the hit ITV crime drama Broadchurch (2013–2017) and the four-part BBC One medical drama Trust Me (2017).
2017–2022: Doctor Who
On 16 July 2017, the BBC announced Whittaker would play the Thirteenth Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who; she is the first woman to play the Doctor. She had previously worked with incoming Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall on Broadchurch. She admitted that she had to "tell a lot of lies" after being cast to keep the information secret and used the codeword "Clooney" when talking about the role. Whittaker kept her mother in "the inner circle" regarding knowledge of the role, as her father, Adrian, "would have the ability to tell the world".
She urged fans not to be afraid of her gender, saying "Doctor Who represents everything that's exciting about change. The fans have lived through so many changes, and this is only a new, different one, not a fearful one." Chibnall said that he always wanted a woman for the part and that Whittaker was their first choice.
Reaction to Whittaker's casting was mostly positive, although a "sizeable minority" was unhappy. Some said that a female Doctor would be a good role model for young girls, while others felt the Doctor was only ever meant to be male, or criticised the casting as an exercise in political correctness.
Whittaker debuted in the 2017 Christmas special "Twice Upon a Time" while her opening episode The Woman Who Fell to Earth is the highest-viewed premiere episode of a debuting Doctor in the show's history with 10.96 million viewers.
In November 2018, the BBC confirmed that the twelfth series, Whittaker's second series, had begun production. Whittaker returned for the thirteenth series, and also voiced the Doctor in the 2022 BBC Sounds podcast Doctor Who: Redacted. She departed the programme following the series and three associated specials in 2022. Whittaker generally received praise for her performance. Though some felt the Thirteenth Doctor did little to combat social and political injustices, others felt the era's storylines were too 'politically correct', criticising what they saw as the show taking a more socially progressive outlook during Whittaker's tenure.
On May 31, 2025, Whittaker made a surprise cameo, reprising her role as the Thirteenth Doctor in the Doctor Who series 15 finale "The Reality War", alongside Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor. Starting in July 2025, Whittaker reprised her role as the Thirteenth Doctor in a series of Doctor Who audio dramas from Big Finish Productions.
2023–present In February 2023, a press release indicated that Whittaker was filming for a six-part Australian drama series One Night for Paramount+. The series was released on Paramount+ in Australia on 1 September 2023 and in the UK and Ireland on 24 November 2023. In One Night, Whittaker played a rape victim.
In April 2023, it was announced that Whittaker would star alongside Bella Ramsey and Siobhan Finneran in the second series of the BBC prison drama Time and that filming would start in the spring of 2023 in and around Liverpool. The series premiered on BBC One in October 2023.
In August 2023, Whittaker joined the main cast of the Netflix series Toxic Town, based on the Corby toxic waste case. It was released on Netflix worldwide on February 27, 2025.
From October 2024 to December 2024, Whittaker starred in the West End stage play The Duchess.
It was announced on 30 January 2025 that Whittaker and Suranne Jones would star in Frauds, a six-part ITV art-heist series about two confidence trickster women. The tv series premiered in the UK on ITV1 6 October 2025.
It was announced on 7 July 2025 that Whittaker would star in Dear England, a four-part BBC series adapted from a hit stage play about English football manager Gareth Southgate. Southgate, to be played by Joseph Fiennes, turned around the England men's football team; Whittaker will play the team's psychologist. The series premiered on BBC One on May 24 2026.
It was announced on June 15, 2026 that Whittaker would have a recurring role in the 6th season of Hulu's Only Murders in the Building and production of the season was currently underway in the UK.. It was announced on August 25 2026 that Season 6 would premiere on Hulu on December 8 2026, with the season title of Only Murders in London.
It was announced on July 10, 2026 that Whittaker would star in and executive produce a short film The Country that was a dystopian thriller. It was announced on July 15 2026 that Whittaker would star with Ellen Pompeo in a Hulu pilot Chicks.
On September 15 2026, the trailer for Season 4 of the Netflix series The Diplomat was released and Whittaker was seen briefly towards the end. However, it has not been officially announced yet that she's in the series or what her role is. It was announced on September 16 2026 that Whittaker would star in the ITV series In Contempt, about a hotshot media lawyer.
Personal life Whittaker met Christian Contreras, a Belizean-American actor and writer, in drama school, and they married in Arizona in 2008. She gave birth to their daughter in April 2015, and had their second child in 2022. During filming of Doctor Who, Whittaker and her family resided in Penarth for four years. By 2025 they had lived in London for more than 20 years.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Note 2006 Venus Jessie 2007 St Trinian's Beverly 2008 Good Anne Hartman 2009 White Wedding RoseThrushRuby's FriendShort film Swansong: Story of Occi Byrne Bridget Byrne Roar Eva Short film Perrier's Bounty Brenda Wish 143 Maggie Short filmsMr. DorothyMitch's Wife St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold Beverly 2010 The Kid Jackie Ollie Kepler's Expanding Purple World Noreen Stokes 2011 Attack the Block Samantha AdamsTwo MinutesJulietteShort film One Day Tilly A Thousand Kisses Deep Mia Selva Also a video operatorHello CarterSusieShort film 2012 Ashes Ruth Dust Jessica's Mum Short films Smoke Woman2013 Hello Carter Jenny Spike Island Suzanne Good Vibrations Ruth 2014 Get Santa Alison Emotional Fusebox Anna Short film Black Sea Chrissy 2016 Adult Life Skills Anna Also an executive producer 2017 Journeyman Emma2018UntitledMaryShort films2019RachelRachel 2022 Type Franny (voice) 2024 That Christmas Mrs. Williams (voice) 2025 Truckload Sarah Short film 2026 Office Romance Lizzy The Country TBA Short film; also exec producer
Television +KeyDenotes productions that have not yet been released Year Title Role Notes 2006 Sam Episode: "The Last Will and Testament of Billy Two-Sheds" Doctors Louise Clancy Episode: "Ignorance Is Bliss" Dalziel and Pascoe Kirsty Richards Episode: "Fallen Angel" 2007 This Life + 10 Clare Television film 2008 Tess of the D'Urbervilles Izz Huett 3 episodes Wired Louise Evans Sophie Television film Consuming Passion: 100 Years of Mills & Boon Mary Boon 2009 Return to Cranford Peggy Bell 2 episodes 2010 Accused Emma Croft Episode: "Liam's Story" Royal Wedding Linda Caddock Television film 2011 Marchlands Ruth Bowen 5 episodes Black Mirror Ffion Episode: "The Entire History of You" Vivian Pearce Television film 2013–2017 Broadchurch Beth Latimer 24 episodes 2014 Sandy Grimes 8 episodes Trish Tooley 2017 Trust Me Cath Hardacre / Dr Ally Sutton 4 episodes 2017–2022, 2025 Doctor Who Thirteenth Doctor 33 episodes 2021 Comic Relief 2021Hospital doctor Charity sketch: "2020: The Movie"2023 Ready Eddie Go!Narrator (voice)26 episodes One NightTess6 episodes TimeOrla O'Riordan3 episodes (Series 2) Tabby McTat Narrator (voice) Television film 2024 The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer Herself / contestant1 episode 2025Toxic Town Susan McIntyre4 episodes Frauds Leanne 'Sam' Samuels 6 episodes2026 Dear England Pippa Grange 4 episodes TBAOnly Murders in the Building TBA Season 6, Recurring, eps unknownChicks Doreen TV pilotIn Contempt Olivia Savareid lead
Commercials Year Title Role Notes2010Npower WidescreenPennyNpower Tyne Tees Weather identsNpower get smart this winter2011Npower Clearer BillsNpower Ta-dah
Stage Year Title RoleVenue Notes 2005 AmpeliscaShakespeare's Globe 2006 Enemies NadyaAlmeida Theatre 2007 A Gaggle of Saints SueTrafalgar Studios Awake and Sing! Hennie BergerAlmeida Theatre 2012 Antigone AntigoneNational Theatre 2019 Doctor Who Escape Room: Worlds CollideThirteenth Doctor 2020 Doctor Who Escape Room: A Dalek Awakens2021Doctor Who: Time FractureImmersive LDNPre-recorded video 2024 ECHO Royal Court TheatreThe DuchessGiovanna d'Aragona, Duchess of AmalfiTrafalgar Theatre