{"id":35173,"date":"2022-04-22T00:35:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-21T23:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/?p=35173"},"modified":"2022-04-24T17:37:30","modified_gmt":"2022-04-24T16:37:30","slug":"jodie-whittaker-and-chris-chibnall-nearly-left-doctor-who-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/2022\/04\/22\/jodie-whittaker-and-chris-chibnall-nearly-left-doctor-who-in-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall Nearly Left Doctor Who in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Chris Chibnall has disclosed that he and Jodie Whittaker came close to leaving Doctor Who<\/em> in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interviewed by Radio Times, the showrunner said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“That we made Doctor Who<\/em> at all during the past two years is a miracle. There was a point around April\/May 2020 where it looked like we\u2019d have to call it a day after two series. If we hadn\u2019t already planned to leave after series three, there\u2019s no way I\u2019d be staying on now after going through that experience.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Unsurprisingly, the pause in television drama production due to the lockdown played havoc with plans for future episodes of Doctor Who<\/em>, and it seems that the programme’s showrunner and lead actor felt their time with the series may have to be cut short. We’ve already learned how the pandemic caused plans for Series 13 to be completely overhauled, resulting in a shorter run. Chibnall now says that this year’s trio of special episodes were affected by uncertainty and late changes too, with Eve of the Daleks<\/em> having to be hastily rewritten because of budget and production pressures:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We had to ditch our original idea and I had to write a new script in just over a week. You can\u2019t just go, ‘Right, we\u2019ve got the series and then we\u2019ll do the specials.’ You\u2019re constantly on this treadmill.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Chibnall has already said that Whittaker’s final episode, due to be screened in the autumn, was a relatively late addition to the schedule, coming in response to the BBC’s desire for a special episode to mark the corporation’s centenary. It’s an interesting insight into the pressures of overseeing the programme, and one can easily imagine the stress resulting from having to produce an extra episode at relatively short notice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsewhere in the interview, in which he firmly rules out writing for the show again, Chibnall looks forward to a less hectic schedule and more quality time with family:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Having observed Russell and Steven at work, I knew how exhausting the show was, and Jodie and I both have families. I didn\u2019t want to be showrunning Doctor Who<\/em> in the year my children were doing their A-level and GCSE exams, which they are now. I owed it to my family \u2013 I hadn\u2019t seen much of them in recent years.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Read the full interview at Radio Times<\/a>. Legend of the Sea Devils<\/em> can be viewed on BBC iPlayer in the UK.<\/p>\n

<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“There was a point around April\/May 2020 where it looked like we\u2019d have to call it a day.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":25869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall Nearly Left #DoctorWho in 2020","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[205],"tags":[411,5163,6829,6705,2848,6736],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Chris-Chibnall-2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":28825,"url":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/2020\/08\/03\/no-chris-chibnall-and-jodie-whittaker-havent-been-confirmed-for-doctor-who-series-14-15-yet\/","url_meta":{"origin":35173,"position":0},"title":"No, Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whittaker Haven’t Been Confirmed for Doctor Who Series 14- 15… Yet","author":"Philip Bates","date":"3 August 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Rumour has it that two further series will go ahead \"under the same cast and crew\".","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Can-You-Hear-Me-13th-Thirteenth-Jodie-Whittaker.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Can-You-Hear-Me-13th-Thirteenth-Jodie-Whittaker.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Can-You-Hear-Me-13th-Thirteenth-Jodie-Whittaker.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Can-You-Hear-Me-13th-Thirteenth-Jodie-Whittaker.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Can-You-Hear-Me-13th-Thirteenth-Jodie-Whittaker.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":32787,"url":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/2021\/07\/30\/doctor-who-trends-on-twitter-after-jodie-whittaker-announces-departure\/","url_meta":{"origin":35173,"position":1},"title":"Doctor Who Trends on Twitter After Jodie Whittaker Announces Departure","author":"Philip Bates","date":"30 July 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Trending terms included \"Jodie\", \"Dr Who\", \"Doctor\", \"Chibnall\", and \"showrunner\".","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Revolution-of-the-Daleks-13th-Thirteenth-Jodie-Whittaker.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Revolution-of-the-Daleks-13th-Thirteenth-Jodie-Whittaker.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Revolution-of-the-Daleks-13th-Thirteenth-Jodie-Whittaker.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Revolution-of-the-Daleks-13th-Thirteenth-Jodie-Whittaker.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Revolution-of-the-Daleks-13th-Thirteenth-Jodie-Whittaker.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16580,"url":"https:\/\/thedoctorwhocompanion.com\/2018\/07\/13\/chris-chibnall-on-jodie-whittaker-casting-i-just-felt-the-time-was-right\/","url_meta":{"origin":35173,"position":2},"title":"Chris Chibnall On Jodie Whittaker Casting: "I Just Felt the Time Was Right"","author":"Andrew Reynolds","date":"13 July 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Speaking in the Comic Con special double-issue of Entertainment Weekly, new Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall has said that there was never a doubt in his mind about casting the first female actor to take on the role of the Doctor. 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