Series 11 ( Doctor Who ) < div id = " SpoilerAlert " > Series 11 of " Doctor Who " will premiere in October 2018 , helmed by new showrunner Chris Chibnall . It will also star Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor , the first woman to take the role , following Peter Capaldi ' s regeneration in series 10 . Chibnall revealed , " I always knew I wanted the 13th Doctor to be a woman , and we ' re thrilled to have secured our number one choice . " Prior to Jodie ' s reveal , bets on who would be the next Doctor were hype , with names like Phoebe Waller - Bridge and Kris Marshall among fan favourites . Whittaker , herself , stated , " I ' m beyond excited to begin this epic journey … It ' s more than an honour to play the Doctor [ . . . ] 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 . " Peter Capaldi , Whittaker ' s predecessor , has full confidence that " she ' s going to be a fantastic Doctor " . " Anyone who has seen Jodie Whittaker ' s work will know that she is a wonderful actress of great individuality and charm . She has above all the huge heart to play this most special part . " Capaldi had previously expressed that he wants the next actor to take the role to finally be a woman . In an interview with " Doctor Who Magazine " , Whittaker stated that the new incarnation will not fundamentally change the character of the Doctor , saying : " It ' s a brand new body , and the body happens to be female . " In an interview with " Rolling Stone " on 5 September 2017 , Whittaker said that : " As a young girl , I did not think that ' Time Lord ' would ever be on my CV . " and went on to discuss genders : " I ’ m playing an alien and gender is not a part of that . A moment like this of being the first woman cast as something , it makes you really think about your sex , whereas actually what you want to do is play a part where your gender is irrelevant . I am a woman , so I don ' t need to play that . And so for me , this was the most freeing experience because there ' s no right or wrong way to do it . The rules went out the window . " On 22 October 2017 , it was revealed that Whittaker would be joined by Bradley Walsh , Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole in the TARDIS , as well as Sharon D Clarke joining the show as a " returning character " . The BBC said in a statement : " New head writer and executive producer Chris Chibnall , who made the decision to cast the first ever woman in the iconic role , is also shaking up who will travel with the Doctor in [ the TARDIS ] , with a team of new characters " , at the same time also confirming that the new series will run through 10 weeks , with 50 minutes each episode and kicking off with a feature length opener . Series 11 will also mark the switch of special effects team with Milk VFX ' s last duties being on the preceding Christmas special " Twice Upon a Time " , handing over the job to " Double Negative " , whose previous work can be found on " Blade Runner 2049 " , " Interstellar " , " Inception " , with more . A teaser was released on 21 February 2018 , the new logo was designed by the LittleHawk agency following Chris Chibnall and Matt Strevens ' directions while the music and sound effects were done by Matthew Herbert . Production . Producers . Chris Chibnall and Matt Strevens will co - executive produce . They were later joined by Sam Hoyle . Nikki Wilson will return as a producer . Alex Mercer will also be a producer . Filming . Jodie Whittaker used the codename " The Clooney " , a reference to George Clooney , when discussing her role . Directing . Jamie Childs directed the trailer that revealed Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor . He will also be directing the opening block for this series . Sallie Aprahamian will direct the third filming block . Mark Tonderai will direct episodes two and three . Aliens and enemies . " to be added "