‘Doctor Who’ Season 11 Latest News: Jodie Whittaker Emotional After Learning of Premiere Success

The premiere of “Doctor Who” Season 11 has been a rousing success with millions of people tuning in to see Jodie Whittaker make her debut as the 13th Time Lord in the long-running British sci-fi series.

Reports have indicated that around 8.2 million viewers tuned in to watch the “Doctor Who” Season 11 premiere on Sunday night and the audience it drew was way bigger than Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi’s debuts as the 11th and 12th incarnation of the Doctor. As noted by the Daily Express, that’s an audience share of 40.1 percent. After working on the show for months, Whittaker was clearly emotional when she heard about the positive reaction to her debut.

“When you spend nine months grafting on something with the most extraordinary ensemble of cast and crew, and you put all this hard work in, you do really want it to be seen,” Whittaker told Chris Evans during an interview on BBC Radio 2’s breakfast show (via the Radio Times).

“The good thing about being on a show like Doctor Who is you know it will be seen – but obviously to this extent is quite emotional,” she added. “To make this piece that is for everyone and is inclusive – because it’s not just for Whovians. It’s to make new Whovians as well.”

There were actually some rumblings of discontent when Whittaker was cast as the 13th Doctor last year because the previous Time Lords were always portrayed by male actors. Well, it’s clear that the backlash didn’t matter as viewers are embracing the change in “Doctor Who” Season 11.

Aside from Whittaker, the main cast of “Doctor Who” Season 11 also includes Bradley Walsh as Graham O'Brien, Mandip Gill as Yasmin Khan, and Tosin Cole as Ryan Sinclair. “Doctor Who” Season 11 Episode 2 is scheduled to air on Sunday, Oct. 14.