Doctor Who lead Jodie Whittaker pretended she was filming a Scandinavian film to keep role a secret

Series 11 airs this autumn on the BBC
Under wraps: Jodie Whittaker went to great lengths to hide her new role
BBC / Steve Schofield
Natasha Sporn25 July 2018

Doctor Who boss Chris Chibnall has revealed that the cast and crew pretended they were filming a low-budget Scandinavian film as part of the great lengths they took to keep the new series under wraps.

Chibnall, who took over the show for series 11, told Doctor Who Magazine about the ways the team ensured the secrets of the sci-fi programme stayed hidden in the weeks leading up the Jodie Whittaker’s announcement.

The Broadchurch actress was unveiled as the show’s Thirteenth Doctor last year, making her the first female to hold the famous role.

And Chibnall was so desperate to keep it a secret that he had crew members check in with fake names and on fake missions to conceal what was really going on.

Doctor Who: Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor with her companions
BBC

He told the publication: “Somewhere on a train, Jodie Whittaker is making her way towards us, having told people she’s off to make a low-budget Scandinavian film this weekend.

“In my mind I’m thinking: are we really doing this? A secret shoot, with only nine people involved? Will this work?

“Recce done, we hole up in a hotel. Some of us are checked in under fake names, I can’t work out whether that’s for security, or because we’re all enjoying the cloak and dagger.”

The writer confessed that he forgot his alias when he went to check-in, joking 'I’m not very good at this'”.

The nine of them also had to deal with crowds from a bike race and a wedding while they hurried Whittaker – who was “cosplaying the matrix” – away and out of sight.

The trailer for the upcoming series, which will air this autumn, had its debut last weekend at San Diego Comic Con.

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