The BBC has announced when we can see Jodie Whittaker’s final episode in Doctor Who. She’ll be leaving the sci-fi series in the second half of 2022, in a special that forms part of the BBC’s Centenary celebrations.
The official Doctor Who Twitter account posted a shot thread on the current Doctor’s burgeoning exit. “As part of the BBC Centenary celebrations, Jodie Whittaker’s final episode playing the Thirteenth Doctor is set to air next autumn,” reads the first tweet, with the last adding: “This epic blockbuster special will see the Doctor fight evil across the galaxy one last time but just who will she come up against in her final battle before the Doctor regenerates once more.”
It was announced in July that Whittaker would be leaving the TV series with showrunner Chris Chibnall after a run of specials in 2022. Then, it was revealed that previous showrunner Russell T Davies would be taking on the navigation console of the TARDIS for the next era of timey-wimey adventures. Currently, we know nothing about who Whittaker’s successor might be.
Whittaker has already wrapped her time on the show, with an on-set picture featuring herself and costar Mandip Gill announcing that everything has now been filmed. Their last season is the six-episode Doctor Who: Flux, which started on Halloween. Following this will be a trilogy of specials in 2022.
As part of the BBC Centenary celebrations, Jodie Whittaker’s final episode playing the Thirteenth Doctor is set to air next autumn. pic.twitter.com/vy4eXQgQQJ
— Doctor Who: Flux (@bbcdoctorwho) November 18, 2021
We don’t know anything about the three specials plot-wise yet. Typically, we could expect one to air around Christmas or New Year’s Day, as is tradition, but there’s been no word on if that’ll be the case for 2021 as of now.
Whatever happens, in autumn 2022 we’ll be welcoming a new Doctor – we have some ideas what should come next for Doctor Who. While we wait for more, check out the best Netflix TV series for something to binge.