'Jodie is the Doctor': Fans react to Jodie Whittaker's Doctor Who debut

Fans are loving Jodie Whittaker as the new Doctor. Photo / Supplied

Jodie Whittaker made her debut as the 13th Doctor in the hit sci-fi series Doctor Who on Sunday night.

And fans were blown away by the actress, 36, as she took on the iconic role for the first time, with many gushing that she had all the best qualities of her predecessors.

Some were so impressed by her performance in The Woman Who Fell To Earth, that they happily admitted she had completely embodied the character and that she was already "100% The Doctor".

One wrote: "I have watched every #DoctorWho actor since the first back in 1963. Jodie is quite outstanding & up there with the best. Brings great vibrancy, energy & no little touch of humour to the role. Jodie is Dr. Who."

That was fantastic. #doctorwho

After months and months of "the Doctor should only be a man" rubbish from naysayers - their incessant moaning and negativity was instantly proven to be irrelevant nonsense. Jodie nailed the character within seconds.

She IS the Doctor. 100% 🙌

— ɢᴀᴠɪɴ (@gavinworby) October 7, 2018

While another said of her take on the character: "And Jodie is, in just one episode, 100% The Doctor. No Question."

Another Twitter user disucssed the character's importance in society, and how her depiction will influence change as they wrote: "Seeing Jodie play the Doctor with confidence, wit, and compassion is what we need in 2018. I can only imagine the young girls seeing her play this iconic role."

One thing that a lot of fans also commended Jodie on was the way in which her character was able to take the best qualities from her predecessors.

Taking to Twitter in their droves to discuss it, one wrote: "She's given off Matt Smith vibes from his tenre (sic) all weird and kooky and thats (sic) an awesome thing."

While another agreed, and added: "She's got 11's energy, with 12's emotional depth, a smattering of 9's sarcastic wit, and a touch of 10's mental exuberance. It's working for me."

Another Twitter user said: "She has the energy of 10, the optimism of 11, and the sass of 12... in other words she's amazing."

#doctorwho One word to summarise Jodie's first episode: pic.twitter.com/7p952YfcMQ

— andrew (@_andrewwaltonn) October 7, 2018

How often do little girls see women on telly FIXING and MAKING stuff? Bravo. #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/BK0mk9bLPA

— Caroline Green (@carolinesgreen) October 7, 2018

Jodie's first episode in the sci-fi icon saw her fight off a Stenza Warrior, whilst also introducing her to her companions Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole), Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill) and Graham O'Brien (Bradley Walsh).

Speaking about her role as the much-loved character earlier this year, Jodie said on This Morning: "Every actor brings their perspective and point of view. The pressure was probably more on for Chris [Ecclestone] and Matt [Smith] and Peter [Capaldi], because they're a different actor, but within the version of a man playing the role.

"It's an odd one. Being a woman, talking about it in a way that I don't think a man would. I want to celebrate this journey for me, because I'm the first."

Doctor Who is available now on TVNZ OnDemand and will also screen on TVNZ2 on Fridays at 7.30pm.