Doctor Who’s Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss defend Jo Martin’s ‘brave, pivotal’ new Time Lord after PC backlash
DOCTOR Who made waves last month when it welcomed Jo Martin into the fold as a brand new Time Lord. In the explosive Fugitive of the Judoon episode, another version of The Doctor emerged from her disguise as Ruth Clayton, a Gloucester tour guide. The new iteration, played by Martin, left Jodie Whittaker reeling as […]
DOCTOR Who made waves last month when it welcomed Jo Martin into the fold as a brand new Time Lord.
In the explosive Fugitive of the Judoon episode, another version of The Doctor emerged from her disguise as Ruth Clayton, a Gloucester tour guide.
The new iteration, played by Martin, left Jodie Whittaker reeling as neither women were able to recognise each other, calling their entire timeline into question.
The introduction was divisive, with many claiming the introduction of a second consecutive female Doctor was a political correctness stunt.
However, plenty of others celebrated the move as one of inclusiveness and diversity.
Now former show boss Steven Moffatt and regular screenwriter Mark Gatiss have addressed the debut, admitting they never saw it coming.
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Moffatt claimed that sneaking Martin into the same episode that Captian Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) made his returns ensured the element of surprise.
“I did know about Captain Jack, but I didn’t know about that. And I thought that was very clever, because it made it feel as though the reveal of Captain Jack, and the warning, was the big thing in the episode,” he told Radio Times.
“I thought that was very clever – to conceal a surprise behind another one.”
“We slightly associate the Judoon with a lightweight episode – they’re great, but we don’t think of them as the scary monsters of Doctor Who,” he went on.
“They’re kind of the quite funny monsters of Doctor Who. So you don’t expect it to be a brave, pivotal moment in the show. I thought that was very clever.”
Meanwhile Gatiss admitted that he had no idea where Martin would fit into the future of the show.
“What does it mean? Where is she? Who is she?” he asked.
“Some rules have to be obeyed, others can be flatly ignored.”
Moffatt chipped in: “I haven’t got a clue and I’m not lying, I genuinely do not have a clue what that all means.”
“I don’t know what [Chris’s] plan with the Jo Doctor is – but the first time you see William Hartnell, he’s very confused… you know? Who knows?”
The comments come after show boss Chris Chibnall confirmed that Martin’s character “definitively is the next Doctor” rather than some kind of alternate universe version.
Meanwhile it was revealed that Martin didn’t even know she was auditioning for the role of The Doctor when she first appeared before for BBC bosses.
Doctor Who continues on Sunday at 7:10pm on BBC One.