Jodie Whittaker’s final words in Doctor Who were changed at last minute
The Thirteenth Doctor's farewell speech was tweaked after filming had wrapped. *CONTAINS SPOILERS*
Jodie Whittaker has officially signed off from Doctor Who – but her final moments as the Thirteenth Doctor might have been different.
After being subjected to a fatal blast from a sentient ball of energy, the Doctor began to regenerate – having parted ways with Yaz (Mandip Gill), she decided to depart the TARDIS and "take in one last sunrise", materialising on a clifftop.
With a smile on her face, Thirteen delivered her sign-off: "That's the only sad thing... I wanna know what happens next. Right then, Doctor whoever I'm about to be – tag, you're it!"
Speaking to RadioTimes.com and other press at a screening of Whittaker's final episode, Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall revealed that this sequence was different in the script.
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"I had written that scene before I wrote anything else," Chibnall said. "I knew what that final scene was."
However, he added: "We changed [her final words] round in the edit, because seeing the performance and what Jodie had done… actually, I have to give credit to Becky Trotman, who's one of the two editors on this episode [...] Becky said, ‘I just want to play you this scene with the two last lines flipped.’
"So it was originally, 'I want to know what happens next, I bet it’s going to be brilliant.' – those were going to be the final words, and then Becky played me the version where she flipped the lines and I was like, 'Oh, that’s loads better!'"
Chibnall disclosed that Whittaker's final scene was filmed on "the opposite of a closed set", with the star performing "in front of about 200 people in the studio".
"Everybody came down to worship!" he said.
Chibnall joins Whittaker in departing Doctor Who, with the series entering a new era for its 60th anniversary and beyond under returning showrunner Russell T Davies.
Both Whittaker and Mandip Gill have however insisted they'd be happy to return to the show for a guest appearance in future – 70th anniversary in 2033, anyone?
Read more about Doctor Who:
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- Doctor Who’s Sacha Dhawan “overwhelmed” at getting to play the Doctor
- Sacha Dhawan on his Doctor Who dance sequence: “Yeah, I went for it!”
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Authors
Morgan Jeffery is the Digital Editor for Radio Times, overseeing all editorial output across the brand's digital platforms. He was previously TV Editor at Digital Spy and has featured as a TV expert on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.
