Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker has said she would choose the “really exciting” actress Lydia West to fill her shoes if she “had the power”.
The actress, who has played the Time Lord since 2017, has said she is leaving the BBC One sci-fi series because it “deserves new energy”.
Speaking on Radio 1 on Going Home With Vick And Jordan about her replacement, she said: “If we had the power to choose… I’m going to pick an actress who I think is really exciting and I think would be phenomenal, an actress called Lydia West. If I had the power!”
West starred in Channel 4’s It’s A Sin, written and created by Doctor Who screenwriter Russell T Davies, following a group of gay men and their friends as they navigated the UK’s HIV/Aids crisis throughout the 80s and early 90s.
The actress, 28, played Jill Baxter, who was inspired by a real-life person of the same name, in the show, which also starred Years and Years singer Olly Alexander.
This month, she was one of 36 participants named for the 2021 Bafta Breakthrough initiative, which has been running in the UK since 2013 and helps support emerging stars in film, TV and video games.
Talking about her exit from Doctor Who, Whittaker added she “doesn’t know” if she is happy with her decision to leave after three series.
The 39-year-old added: “When I first signed up, I signed up to do three seasons, and I can tell you now there is many a day where I had a wobble and I felt: ‘Have I made a terrible mistake?’
“At any point I could have probably changed, but once we started to shoot the final series I think that’s when my biggest wobble happened and I thought: ‘What the heck am I doing, leaving the best job I’ve ever done?’
“But you know what? It’s the best job because it’s happened at this moment, and no-one can ever take these memories away and hopefully I’m still going to be living my best life in a few years to come!
“But I just felt that this show deserves new energy. I don’t know if I’m happy with my decision even now, I’m still upset about it!”
Doctor Who: Eve Of The Daleks airs at 7pm on BBC One this New Year’s Day.
