There's a clever Suffragette reference hidden in Jodie Whittaker's Doctor Who costume
There’s a lot more to the Doctor’s new look than we first thought…
With each new reincarnation of the Doctor comes a new costume – from Christopher Eccleston’s leather jacket to Peter Capaldi’s velvety suit, the outfit plays a role in defining the Doctor.
And as the first woman to take control of the Tardis, Jodie Whittaker’s costume contains a very special nod to gender equality.
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Costume designer Ray Holman worked closely with Whittaker to make sure her outfit, which consists of a navy top with colourful stripes, matching braces, blue trousers and a grey coat, reflected a message they were trying to convey.
Hidden within the sleeves of the Doctor’s long grey coat is a shade of violet – a colour that holds huge historical significance.
“Violet and green are essentially the colours of the Suffragettes,” Holman explained.
“So I said to Jodie if I could put violet in the sleeves, and she let me.”
“And it’s brilliant!” Whittaker said.
“The costume was incredibly collaborative,” she added. “I was inspired by a photograph I found of a woman in trousers, braces and a t-shirt walking with purpose, and I loved it.
“It felt timeless, it felt intriguing and it felt open to interpretation. It was neither male nor female, which was really important to me.”
Whittaker's first series as the Doctor began airing in early October, with 8.2 million tuning in to see her debut which won critical acclaim.
And it’s not just Whovians who are impressed by Whittaker. Black Mirror showrunner and writer Charlie Brooker – who cast Whittaker in an early episode of his anthology series – has praised her as “f***ing brilliant.”
“I’ve got my kids who are four and six years old and they’re both boys. Our four-year-old wanted to see Doctor Who, which I told Jodie about before the show went out, so I got him started on that,” he explained.
“For him, the Doctor is a woman, that’s the default to him.”
Doctor Who continues on Sundays on BBC1
This article was originally published on 26 October 2018
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Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.
