Jodie Whittaker said she was “crying her eyes out” during her final days on the Doctor Who set.
The actor, who has played the Time Lord since 2017, announced in the summer that she will be leaving the sci-fi drama after the upcoming series and a trio of specials in 2022.
Showrunner Chris Chibnall is also set to leave the programme and will be replaced by Russell T Davies, who was behind the show’s revival in 2005.
Speaking during a Q&A, the 39-year-old actress said: “You have to honour the show and to honour everything. Me and Chris, there was this thing of like ‘We want to do three seasons’.
“But no one holds you to that so there was always a conversation, it was always fluid. But when you commit to that decision.
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“This Doctor is Chris’s Doctor so for me it is right, but if everyone comes up to you forever going ‘I’m a Doctor Who fan’ then that is an absolute joy because it has been such a pleasure.
“But it is also letting go of it. I feel like I will be filled with a lot of grief for it because I kind of… Even thinking about it, it makes me upset. But this show needs new energy.
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“The Doctor, the joy of this part is you hand on your boots – and you hand them on. And I don’t know who, but whoever that is, what a thing to go, ‘You are going to have a right time’.”
Whittaker, who previously starred as Beth Latimer in Broadchurch, recalled crying during her final days on set.
“You know what I’m like – I’m a crier. I had to do my final (backstage interview) today. We haven’t finished filming so I can avoid the thoughts a bit more,” she said.
“But obviously with the behind-the-scenes stuff, it was in that slightly concluding way and, ‘Can you tell us how you feel about the crew?’ and then I just lost it.
“I was just crying my eyes out, absolutely gone. I always knew this is the best time I will ever have on a job. I have felt like that from the start of it.”
Rochenda Sandall, who played Lisa McQueen in Line Of Duty and Sam Spruell from The North Water will be joining the cast as guest stars, while Ripper Street star Craige Els, Steve Oram from The End Of The F****** World, The One actress Nadia Albina and Jonathan Watson of Two Doors Down will also feature.
It was previously announced Robert Bathurst, Thaddea Graham and Blake Harrison would be appearing in the upcoming series.
The first Doctor Who special will air on 1 January, a second will be released in spring and a third special episode, when the Doctor will regenerate, will air next autumn.
The new series of Doctor Who begins on 31 October.
Police are investigating a shooting at the Toronto mansion of Canadian rapper Drake.
A security guard, who had been standing outside the gates of the property, was taken to hospital after being seriously injured in the attack.
The shooting happened early on Tuesday morning, soon after 2am local time (7am UK time) near Bayview Avenue and Lawrence Avenue in the affluent Bridle Path neighbourhood.
A suspect fled the scene in a vehicle, police said in a post on X.
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The creators of Friends have revealed that parts of the script for the final episode were leaked by an insider ahead of the show airing.
Simply titled The Last One, millions tuned in as the episode brought the hit comedy to a close 20 years ago, on 6 May 2004, finally resolving the decade-long “will they, won’t they?” romance between Ross and Rachel.
Looking back at the final shows in an interview with NBC’s Today show in the US, Friends creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane revealed details of the leak.
“Oh my god, we tried so hard to keep it a secret!” Kauffman said. “We were desperate to keep it a secret and it got out. And it was an inside job.”
Scripts sent out ahead of the premiere of the final episode were numbered, Crane explained.
“We knew how many people knew what it was going to be,” he said. “So it did, through an element of… it became a behind-the-scenes detective show.
“It was frustrating, but at the end of the day, what are you gonna do?”
Part of the script that leaked included the details of Ross and Rachel finally getting back together, Kauffman said.
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But when asked if the mystery of who released the information was solved, she replied with a smile: “Ish.”
“Ish,” Crane repeated.
After 10 series and 236 episodes, as well as Ross and Rachel’s reunion, the final instalment saw Monica and Chandler leaving their famous Manhattan apartment and moving to the suburbs as new parents to adopted twins.
Perry, who died last year, aged 54, wrote about the finale in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, And The Big Terrible Thing.
“Before that final episode, I’d taken Marta Kauffman to one side,” he wrote. “‘Nobody else will care about this except me’, I said. ‘So may I please have the last line?'”
His character Chandler did indeed have the last line. As the Friends decide to go for one last coffee before the move, he simply asks, “Where?”, in a trademark sarcastic but poignant joke about the fact that so much of their time on screen has been spent in the Central Perk coffee shop.
“It’s incredibly poignant. It’s a legacy for him, one of his many legacies,” Kauffman said.
Friends has found a new generation of fans in recent years after being picked up by streaming sites.
Earlier this year, two scripts for The One With Ross’s Wedding, season four’s famous two-part finale filmed in London, sold at auction for £22,000 after being found in a bin.
The new music venue – which is set to become the largest in the UK when it does open, seating 23,500 people – has said it will now open on 14 May, when British rock band Elbow are scheduled to perform.
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Last week, the venue said it would be taking “a short pause to events… to fully ensure the safety and security of fans and artists visiting the venue”.
American rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie had been cancelled at the last minute the previous day, due to a “technical issue” during a soundcheck.
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What is happening with Co-op Live Arena?
Tim Leiweke, chairman and chief executive of US-based venue operator Oak View Group, apologised for the delays and to “all those that have been affected” and said staff were working “incredibly hard” to get the building ready for 14 May.
“As many of you will know, it’s not been the smooth start we had planned for, and I know that has caused a huge amount of disruption and frustration to thousands of people,” he said.
The issues began following a test event in April which led to Co-op Live announcing it would have to reschedule Kay’s stand-up shows. These were first moved to later dates in April before a second rescheduling to 23 and 24 May.
A gig by The Black Keys has also been moved to 15 May. Rodrigo’s 3 and 4 May dates were postponed, while A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s 1 May performance took place three days later, having moved to the city’s AO Arena.
The Eagles, Nicki Minaj, Pet Shop Boys, Liam Gallagher, Pearl Jam, The Killers and Eric Clapton are among the big-name acts scheduled to perform at the venue in the coming months, but so far only a test event by Rick Astley has gone ahead.
The arena’s general manager Gary Roden announced his resignation last month.
A Co-op Group spokesperson previously said: “Co-op is a sponsor and does not own or run the venue, and we have made it clear to Oak View Group, who are responsible for the building, that the impact on ticketholders must be addressed as a priority.
“We are pleased that they will shortly be putting plans in place to do so.”
They added that safety checks would be independently verified so Co-op members and other ticket holders “can be reassured that the venue has the very highest levels of security and safety measures”.