In today’s instalment of ‘it’s 2017, we wish this wasn’t news but here we are’: The BBC will indeed pay Jodie Whittaker as much as previous Doctor Who leads.
Not only can the Doctor regenerate into a female form, but said female form (alias Jodie Whittaker) will receive a salary equal to her male predecessors!
Related: Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker: 5 reasons she’s a seriously great choice
It should be a given, of course, but in light of the recent spotlighting of the BBC’s top paid stars — two thirds of which are men — it really wasn’t. Luckily, the BBC director-general Tony Hall has confirmed to the Evening Standard that Time Lords, at least, receive equal pay.
Variety reports previous Doctor Peter Capaldi’s salary as being in the $260,000-325,000 range.
While there’s been the predictable backlash to the Doctor being female, and some canonically inaccurate claims that the alien Time Lord can’t regenerate into a female form, most responses to the appointment of Jodie Whittaker have been positive.
At San Diego Comic-Con 2017, previous Doctor Who star David Tennant reportedly referred to the series as “another story with a strong female lead” (via Radio Times). We can’t wait to see it!