New Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker has a world of work ahead to follow Peter Capaldi, but that work shouldn’t include equal pay. As Whittaker herself put it, she only took the TARDIS gig after The BBC agreed to match Capaldi’s salary, and deservedly so.

Whittaker won’t make her formal debut as Doctor Who lead until later this year, even as the first female Doctor arrived with this past December’s Christmas special. Prior to filming those 2017 scenes, reports emerged that The BBC had a massive pay disparity between men and women – one it promised to correct. Whittaker recently told reporters backstage at the National Television Awards (h/t RadioTimes) that she only took the Doctor Who role with assurances that would be the case:

I don’t imagine you’re going to meet a woman this evening who is unenthusiastic about the prospect of equal pay. It’s an incredibly important time and [equal pay is] a notion that should be supported – and it’s a bit of a shock that it’s a surprise to everyone that it should be supported.

For those wondering, Capaldi (and therefore Whittaker) pull down between £200,000 and £249,999 an episode – roughly $284,000 or $353,000 American. BBC Director-General Tony Hall is reportedly hoping to eradicate all instances of the network’s pay disparity by 2020.

Stay tuned for more on Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor Who debut as we get closer to Season 11 later this year.

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