Jodie Whittaker has been announced as Doctor Who's 13th Time Lord - the first woman to be given the role.
The new Doctor's identity was revealed in a trailer broadcast at the end of the Wimbledon men's singles final. The Broadchurch star succeeds Peter Capaldi, who took over the role in 2013 and leaves in the forthcoming Christmas special.
Whittaker, 35, said it was "overwhelming, as a feminist" to become the next Doctor.
She will make her debut on the sci-fi show when the Doctor regenerates in the Christmas Day special.
Whittaker was one of a number of names touted as 12th Doctor Peter Capaldi signed off after three seasons (he will formally pass the baton to his successor with this year’s Christmas special).
In the end speculation that everyone from Fleabag writer and star Phoebe Mary Waller-Bridge to Death in Paradise’s Kris Marshall were a "shoo in" for the gig proved wide of the mark, as the identity of the new Doctor was revealed in a moody trailer broadcast after the Wimbledon men’s singles final.
Even setting aside the historic nature of her casting, taking charge of the Tardis will be a big ask for the actress. Then Whittaker has never lacked for confidence, as she made clear when starring opposite Peter O’Toole and Vanessa Redgrave in her first major screen role, the 2006 comedy-drama Venus. As an aspiring model who becomes the object of the doddery affections of an elderly thespian (O’Toole) she put in a Russian doll of a performance, with her character’s outward naivety gradually revealed as a cover for darker emotions.
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