Doctor Who’s Jo Martin defends ‘groundbreaking’ casting as first black female Time Lord after PC backlash
JO Martin made waves last year when she made her Doctor Who debut.
The Holby City actress became the first black, female Time Lord when she appeared as an alternate embodiment of The Doctor from a different timeline.
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The episode saw the Judoon invade Gloucester in pursuit of a mystery fugitive, who turned out to be none other than the Doctor.
Jo, disguised as tour guide Ruth Clayton, grappled with amnesia in the early part of the episode, until a trip to a lighthouse jogged her memory.
She subsequently hopped into her very own Tardis, armed with a laser rifle, to take on the Judoon on their spaceship.
There was a fair bit of confusion on Whittaker’s part, given that neither of the women recognised each other, which should be the case on a linear timeline, where the future Doctor would recognise their past iteration.
It was later explained that Jo wasn't the 'new Doctor' and that her appearance was in a guest capacitym but some fans claimed the far was taking political correctness too far with two female Doctors in a row.
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Nonetheless, Jo has defended her stint on the BBC sci-fi hit, pointing out how her appearance could inspire others and bolstered the show's diversity.
“A lot of Black geeks who love sci-fi have sent me pictures of them doing cosplay - they thank me and tell me it’s great that they now have someone to dress up as,” she told .
She stressed that she never saw anyone like herself in such a role growing up and said she was thrilled to pave the way for others.
“I was a fan of Doctor Who back in the day and not seeing myself on screen as a child was tough,"; she went on.
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"It’s an awful thing to grow up thinking it’s wrong to be Black, so it’s fabulous that there are now characters like this who young kids can look up to.”
Reflecting on the historic nature of her casting she continued: “What’s really special about these parts is that they’re groundbreaking - no one would expect a Black, middle-aged woman to be Doctor Who, but there we have it."
Doctor Who will return to screens this festive season for Christmas special Revolution of the Daleks.
Doctor Who is available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.