Benedict Cumberbatch on the first female Doctor: "It's an alien – why can't it be a woman?"

The Sherlock actor is all for the casting of a woman to play the 13th incarnation of the Time Lord: "It's an alien – why can't it be a woman? Why can't it be any gender?"

And while Cumberbatch may not have acted alongside Whittaker in the past, he is more than excited about what she will do with the coveted role.

"I don't speak as someone who has the right as a fan to have an incredibly strong opinion. I just speak as someone who wants to see Jodie Whittaker's performance as the Doctor. I think she's an extraordinary actress and we're lucky culturally to have got her to agree to do it, let alone any debate ensuing about whether it was right or wrong.

"Just go for it – let's see what happens."

Whittaker's first appearance will come on Christmas Day as Peter Capaldi exits the show and the Doctor regenerates into a woman for the very first time.

Cumberbatch, meanwhile, will be on TV screens much sooner playing Stephen Lewis in an adaptation of The Child in Time – a one-off drama based on Ian McEwan's best-selling novel that has been made for BBC1 by Cumberbatch's production company, SunnyMarch.

"It's different when you've got a producer's hat on because you're there for the inception of the idea," said Cumberbatch. "I've never been at that stage of things before. But everyone had a great experience making it, which is a great testament to us doing something right as a production team.

"I really, really enjoyed it."

The Child in Time airs on BBC1 on Sunday 24th September