Speaking to Doctor Who Magazine, she said: “I don’t think it was a discussion, but it was absolutely there. The Doctor’s response in certain situations felt, to me, so authentically her that it celebrated a neurodiverse character without slapping on a label. It was just ‘the Doctor’.
She added: “So, me? I absolutely was aware. It’s playing it without the label, in a way. Just: the Doctor responds like this. That’s what I loved about it. And that’s why the Doctor is such a brilliant part to play.
“Sometimes we explain certain traits by saying, “This person is neurodiverse, or has ADHD, or is autistic,’ and that can be a positive thing – explaining is not negative. But with the Doctor, it wasn’t about explaining.
“She has characteristics that potentially, in a human form, would be associated with autism, but the joy is – as you said – it’s not in any way negative, in any way something to be fixed. It’s something to be celebrated. The Doctor is the Doctor. What is so beautiful about playing the Doctor is that there is no conforming.”
Then-showrunner Chris Chibnall added that it was a part of the Doctor that developed over time – and he’s blown away by how much the character means to neurodivergent audiences.
Whittaker made history as the first female Doctor and, following her exit in 2022, returned for Ncuti Gatwa’s final episode, The Reality War, earlier this year.
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