Doctor Who boss reveals Jodie Whittaker's final line was almost very different

Chibnall revealed the change came during the editing process.

By Brenna Cooper and David Opie

24 Oct 2022

Doctor Who spoilers for 'The Power of the Doctor' follow.

Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall has revealed what Jodie Whittaker's final line was before a last-minute editing change.

Speaking to Digital Spy and other media, Chibnall opened up on the writing process for Whittaker's final scene as The Doctor, revealing that the scene was one of the first he had written for the episode.

"I had written that scene before I had written anything else, I knew what that final scene was," he said.

"We changed them around in the edit... and I have to give credit to Becky Trotman who's one of the two editors on this episode... Becky said, 'I just want to play you this scene with the two last lines flipped'."

jodie whittaker's thirteenth doctor regenerates on doctor who

BBC

Whittaker's final lines as aired used in the show were: "Oh, the blossomiest blossom. It's the only sad thing. I wanna know what happens next. Right then, Doctor-whoever-I'm-about-to-be, tag. You're it!"

But now Chibnall has revealed what The Doctor originally said, and why they changed it during editing.

He continued: "So it was originally, 'I wanna know what happens next and I bet it's going to be brilliant', then Becky played me the version where she flipped the lines and I was like, 'Oh, that's loads better!'"

BBC

Doctor Who aired the highly anticipated regeneration episode as part of the BBC's centenary special celebrations – seeing Whittaker's Doctor transforming into David Tennant.

Returning showrunner Russell T Davies described Tennant as playing "the Fourteenth Doctor" in a statement released after the episode aired, rather than referring to him as the Tenth Doctor.

While fans will have to wait until late next year to see how everything plays out, and how it leads into Ncuti Gatwa's introduction as the Fifteenth Doctor, it's safe to say fans are overjoyed to see Tennant's return to play the iconic character for the 60th anniversary specials.

Doctor Who airs on BBC One in the UK and will return in 2023. In the US, the show airs on BBC America, with series 1-12 available on HBO Max. Classic Doctor Who streams exclusively on BritBox in the UK.