Rumour: Jodie Whittaker Leaving Doctor Who In 2022 Specials
They add:
Jodie’s third series, which started filming in November, was cut to eight episodes from ten because of Covid restrictions slowing down production. She will appear in all eight from the autumn, with her regeneration now expected to take place in a special to be screened next year.
One insider said: “As ever bosses are staying tight-lipped about what they have planned, but with filming still ongoing they clearly have plans for episodes to be playing out much later into 2022 – so there’s still more to come for Jodie’s Doctor.”
The report also states that Jodie will not appear on the cover of the Doctor Who Annual for 2022 as a result.
UPDATE: From the Mirror:
Jodie Whittaker will star in two specials in her swansong as Doctor Who, to be filmed back-to-back with the upcoming series.
They will air on BBC1 next year and extend her run as the Time Lord into 2022, even though she’ll actually hang up her sonic screwdriver when filming ends in the next couple of months.
And that will be it for the 13th Doc.
Which means the second special must contain the all-important regeneration scene, in which she morphs into the 14th Doctor, whoever that may be.
It’s likely that the extra stories are the two episodes that got shaved off the end of the upcoming run this autumn, which went from 10 to eight instalments due to Covid regulations slowing things down.
So while Jodie will be free to take on other roles pretty soon, she’ll still officially be the Doctor on screen until at least next Easter next year, those in the know say.
Showrunner Chris Chibnall doesn’t like to be rushed, so BBC bosses might string things out by holding a special back for next summer or beyond.
However this makes the chance of a full series in 2022 with Jodie’s successor seem slim. Only time – and space – will tell.
