Doctor Who’s Jo Martin says she was told she is officially the first Doctor

We reported a while back that Titan Comics’ Doctor Who series had established that Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor was an earlier incarnation of the character than the already established first Doctor, played in 1963 by William Hartnell and now it seems that this is prime lore for the BBC series.

Doctor Who has had a complex canon and timeline, more than most shows, over the years with comics, novels, audio books and the series itself often contradicting itself and fans have embraced this and allowed themselves to dip in and out and take what they want as their canon.

New story confirms The Fugitive Doctor as the first recognisable incarnation of the Time Lord/Lady

However, until Chris Chibnall’s run, Hartnell’s Doctor was the first and that, at least, was set in stone. In his controversial Timeless Child story, it was established that the Doctor has, in fact, many incarnations that he had long forgotten and one of these was the Fugitive Doctor, played by Martin.

In a new interview, the actress confirms that she was told that her Doctor is officially the first.

Speakign about her place in the mythology, the actress said: “I think a lot of fans are really hung up on that.

“Quite a few want to know—where in the canon do I come? They’ll come and ask me on train journeys! I’m like, ‘Listen, you’ll have to ask Mr Chibnall, because I didn’t write this.’”

Russell T Davies doesn’t sound so sure Doctor Who will get a third series anymore

Chibnall has, presumably deliberately, not really commented on the Fugitive Doctor, leaving fans to, as I say above, draw their own conclusions and mythology, but Martin says she was told in no uncertain terms, where her character fits… right at the beginning: “All I know is that when I took the job and they were trying to explain my Doctor to me, I was told how it was going to work—that I was the First Doctor. So, I was like, ‘Okay!’”

Martin’s brief turn as the Doctor was fun and she was definitely one of the high points of Chibnall’s dire time on the show which wasted so much talent, including Jodie Whitaker as the thirteenth Doctor but fans will either fully embrace or reject her as the first Doctor… such are fandoms, I suppose.

One thing that is undeniable except to a few fans who furiously deny reality, is that Doctor Who has been on life-support since Chibnall and when Russell T Davies returned over a year ago to relaunch the show, many hoped the dark times were over but sadly, the latest run has been as bad, if not worse, than Chibnall’s run.

Gatwa and Gibson unsure of future in Doctor Who beyond 2025

In the most recent issue of Doctor Who Magazine, Davies reveals that a 2025 Christmas Special – Doctor Who and Christmas have been a constant ever since Davies first run in 2005 – has not been commissioned as it was not part of the original series order under the BBC and Disney+ deal.

According to Den of Geek, the initial deal was for the three 60th anniversary specials, 2023 Christmas special, the eight-episode series 14, 2024 Christmas special, the eight-episode series 15, plus the five-episode Sea Devils spinoff The War Between the Land and the Sea.

This means that a 2025 special and potential third series depend on the success of series 2 later this year and, honestly, if it performs the way series one did last year, Doctor Who may well be on a hiatus for another few years.

Honestly, with the seemingly deliberate destruction of the series in recent years, it might be for the best, it’s just sad to think of a series like Doctor Who going out on such a pitiful whimper rather than a deafening roar.

C’est la vie.

Thoughts? I wanna hear them.

Russell Tovey to star in Doctor Who spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea [SDCC 2024]

Source: Doctor Who TV and Den of Geek