Doctor Who news: Jodie Whittaker talks playing the Doctor again in new audio series

While her era on television is over, Jodie Whittaker hasn't finished playing the Thirteenth Doctor yet. Beginning in July 2025, a new series from Big Finish begins called Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures. As anyone familiar with Big Finish knows, this is just one of many series starring a former Doctor, with brand new adventures set firmly in their era on television.

Almost all Doctors have been given stories on audio by Big Finish, although it's important to remember that there's no guarantee that a former Doctor will return to their old role. In fact, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi have never performed in a Big Finish audio. So having both Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill back as the Thirteenth Doctor and Yasmin Khan so soon is quite impressive.

Then again, it helps that Jodie Whittaker is happy to return to the role - especially in a relatively easy medium to work in. Speaking on the BBC's Morning Live on Thursday, Whittaker discussed one perk of playing the role of audio, while providing the audience an idea of how much progress has been made on the series.

"We've recorded three, I think, so far. I think there's quite a few in the season. It's amazing. It's the dream scenario: it's playing the Doctor without learning the lines."

- Jodie Whittaker

A sense of energy

Not needing to learn the lines sounds like quite the benefit for an actor. Of course, that's not the only reason Whittaker's returned to the role.

"It's my favorite part, I adore playing the Doctor. On the first day, I said to Mandip, 'I don't know if I can remember how to do the voice.' I was like, 'What voice did I use?' And she said 'that one' – I thought I couldn't do it."

- Jodie Whittaker

While the performance is entirely on audio, one thing that helped Whittaker find the right energy for playing the Thirteenth Doctor was bringing back some of the physicality of the role.

"They gave me a chair, and I said, 'I can't sit down and play the Doctor, even if it's not TV! I've got to be manic and fidget – I can't sit down...So they've given me a little space and, physically, it is as exhausting as doing it on film because I can't sit still.""

- Jodie Whittaker

This honestly doesn't surprise me. When listening to some of the behind-the-scenes interviews on Big Finish's releases, you often hear about actors discussing how a sense of physicality is still required to bring the right amount of energy to a character. And Doctor Who stories, especially modern Who stories, are usually filled with energy.

I'm excited to hear the Thirteenth Doctor in brand new audio adventures. The first season will consist of 12 monthly episodes, so Big Finish clearly has quite a lot planned for the series. You can pre-order either individual episodes or the entire season now on CD or download directly from Big Finish's website.