Photo: BBC
In its new Sunday time slot, the Doctor Who premiere, featuring Jodie Whittaker as the Time Lord, generated an average of 8.2 million viewers and a peak of 9 million. To compare, previous openers with Peter Capaldi, Matt Smith, and David Tennant were watched by 6.8 million, 7.7 million, and 8 million, respectively.
The fall season of Doctor Who has been well-received by critics and fans alike, with the season premiere gaining a 40.1 percent audience share for the UK’s BBC. Following a successful premiere, new details were released about what’s to come this season on the BBC series.
An extended season preview revealed first looks at new guest stars who will appear throughout the ten episodes. Guest stars include Chris Noth (Sex and the City), Mark Addy (Game of Thrones), and Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey). Other faces include Shaun Dooley (The Woman in Black), Susan Lynch (From Hell), Art Malik (Cold Feet), comedian Lee Mack, and Alan Cumming (Instinct).
Other guests were revealed in the teaser, including Julie Hesmondhalgh (Coronation Street), Shane Zaza (Press), Shobna Gulati (Coronation Street), Brett Goldstein (Superbob), Josh Bowman (Revenge), Siobhan Finneran (Downton Abbey), Lois Chimimba (Trust Me), Hamza Jeetoa (Bin Men), Suzanne Packer (Casualty), Vinette Robinson (Vera Drake), Amita Suman (Casualty), and Ben Bailey Smith (Bounty Hunters).
To celebrate Jodie Whittaker’s fresh take on the iconic Doctor, BBC Studios and Mattel teamed up for a Barbie doll in her likeness, first revealed at New York Comic-Con. The new Jodie Whittaker Barbie arrives in stores December 3 at Hot Topic, hottopic.com, barbie.com, and bbcshop.com.
“This year, we’re introducing an all-new look for Doctor Who. New monsters, new stories, new characters and of course a new Doctor in Jodie Whittaker, the first woman to play the role,” Sergei Kuharsky, executive vice president of enterprise and digital franchises at BBC Studios—Americas, said. “Given Barbie’s celebration of women who have made history, as well as iconic characters from some of the best loved movies and shows, we felt it was a great opportunity to work with Mattel to create a doll based on the Thirteenth Doctor. The Doctor Who Barbie doll offers fans and collectors a new way to celebrate the adventures of this iconic character.”
True to character, as fans saw on Sunday night’s episode, the Barbie doll wears a rainbow-striped shirt, cropped trousers, a trench coat, signature suspenders, and lace-up boots. Sonic screwdriver in hand, the collectible doll is poseable and resembles Whittaker’s onscreen character.
