The Thirteenth Doctor is now the first Doctor to actually, well, be a Doctor! Radio Times has reported that Jodie Whittaker, Chris Chibnall, and the rest of the cast and crew of the first episode of Doctor Who series 11 have all been bequeathed honorary doctorates from Sheffield Hallam University.
As for why the degrees came from this university in particular, the reasoning is quite simple: Whittaker’s introductory episode as The Doctor, “The Woman Who Fell to Earth”, was filmed and premiered in the city of Sheffield. Subsequent episodes in Whittaker’s inaugural season returned to the city, and all of the returning companion characters from season 11 hail from there.
Chibnall accepted the Doctor of the Arts for the cast and crew: “The cast and crew of Doctor Who Series 11 are thrilled to be honoured by Sheffield Hallam University this way,” the show runner said, according to the university’s news post. “From the moment we made the decision for the Doctor to fall out of the sky into the streets and homes of Sheffield in 2018, the residents and the city have treated us brilliantly, on screen and off. Doctor Who is a massive team effort so it’s particularly special that this citation is for the whole cast and crew.”
Whittaker is now the first Doctor to play The Doctor! And it turns out that a surprising number of the actors who have portrayed The Doctor were expelled or dropped out of school/theater school/monastery, which is so completely in character we don’t even know where to begin….
