In an interview with the BBC, Whittaker said she was "beyond excited" to play the Doctor and "begin this epic journey with Chris and with every Whovian on this planet".
"It’s more than an honour," she added. "It means remembering everyone I used to be, while stepping forward to embrace everything the Doctor stands for: hope. I can’t wait.”
Asked about what it is like to the first woman Doctor, she said: "It feels completely overwhelming – as a feminist, as a woman, as an actor, as a human, as someone who wants to continually push themselves and challenge themselves, and not be boxed in by what you’re told you can and can’t be. It feels incredible."
She added: "I want to tell the fans not to be scared by my gender. Because this is a really exciting time, and Doctor Who represents everything that’s exciting about change. The fans have lived through so many changes, and this is only a new, different one, not a fearful one."