Doctor Who icon Jodie Whittaker discusses exciting new role: “Suranne Jones is a swan and I’m a feral chicken”

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Jodie Whittaker playfully described Suranne as elegant like a swan, while jokingly comparing herself to a wild, untamed chicken – an image that’s stuck in her mind.

ITV’s new drama, Frauds, stars two of Britain’s most talented actors as a mismatched pair pulling off one final scam. While Jodie Whittaker’s character, Sam, appears calm and collected, and Freddie Jones’s Bert is chaotic, Whittaker reveals that their personalities are actually reversed off-screen.

Suranne appears calm and graceful on the surface, effortlessly handling everything, while I feel chaotic and disorganized. It’s like she’s smoothly gliding across the water like a swan, and I’m a flustered teenager who’s forgotten essential things and is unprepared. She’s composed and put-together, and it’s really inspiring to be around her, whereas I’m just a bit of a mess.

While feral chickens are interesting, Jodie Whittaker is truly excelling as an actress. She’s currently leading the way in getting the kind of roles actors want – challenging parts, good writing, recognition, and a bit of fame. And, importantly, she was the first female Doctor in Doctor Who, a role she continues to embody brilliantly.

Since then, she’s taken on a wide variety of roles, moving between intense dramas like “Toxic Town” and the second season of “Time,” and lighter work such as voiceovers and her new comedy, “Frauds,” which is fast-paced and clever. She’s also landed a leading part in the upcoming TV adaptation of James Graham’s popular play, “Dear England.” And she always has the option of returning to “Doctor Who,” as she did with a surprise appearance earlier this year.

I feel fortunate to work on emotionally powerful shows, and that’s something I always want to do. But it’s also really nice to finish a script, like the first episode of ‘Frauds,’ and realize it didn’t make me cry!

Playing the role of Sam allowed Whittaker to explore a mischievous side. Alongside her co-star Bert, Sam engages in playful antics like pickpocketing, swapping watches, and even trying to steal paintings from Spanish galleries. However, Whittaker wants to be clear: she would never do any of these things in real life.

No way. I’m a very honest person. I really dislike breaking rules – I even go out of my way to avoid it. For example, if I get a coffee to go and then decide I want to sit outside, I’ll go back inside and ask if I need to pay extra for table service. If something says I shouldn’t do it, I won’t.

Sam is drawn back to crime in Frauds because she and Bert were exceptionally skilled fraudsters. The show uses flashbacks to reveal their past exploits – skillfully conning people, running scams, essentially stealing from unpleasant expatriates, and enjoying themselves while doing it.

Whittaker acknowledges that many actors are incredibly talented in multiple areas. She admits she isn’t one of them, noting some colleagues are fluent in numerous languages and have even trained in professions like medicine. Whittaker herself feels less versatile, jokingly saying her English isn’t perfect and she’s lost her writing skills due to relying on texting. She and her colleague, Sam, both feel a sense of vulnerability about what they’d do if acting wasn’t an option, especially as they get older.

As a married mother of two herself, she understands why Sam is drawn to seeking excitement. She relates to the thrill of his actions, explaining that she knows, as an actress, what it’s like to have a job that gives you an adrenaline rush.

Whittaker admits that acting always involves a bit of pretending. She explains that actors, like everyone else, present different versions of themselves depending on the situation. Just as you wouldn’t behave with a friend the same way you would at a restaurant, actors use ‘masks’ to portray characters. We all wear different ‘masks’ in our daily lives, adapting our behavior to fit the context.

Sam often tells Bert she needs to act more maturely. Whittaker, who grew up in West Yorkshire, landed a leading role in the film *Venus* just a year after graduating from drama school in 2005. She responds to the idea of ‘growing up’ by asking, “What does that even mean?” She finds joy in the fact that she’s still doing what she loved as a child: pretending and playing roles.

It’s amazing to see how much things have changed! I remember a time when someone like Suranne Jones, starting out in soaps, wouldn’t have had the power to really lead things behind the camera. Now, she’s not just acting, she’s calling the shots and creating fantastic, female-driven shows like ‘Frauds’ and her new Netflix series ‘Hostage,’ which is incredible to me.

As a film and TV fan, I always appreciate seeing strong female characters, and it’s fantastic when creators like Suranne Jones take control and build entire worlds filled with them. It’s not just about *one* compelling woman, but a whole spectrum of amazing roles for women of all ages – she and her co-creator, Anne-Marie O’Connor, really delivered on that.

It’s amusing, considering how much they praise each other’s work, that Whittaker and Jones haven’t actually collaborated yet. They both live in London and often visit the same coffee shops, where Whittaker is known for jokingly offering to pay extra for a good table.

She considered following in Suranne Jones’ footsteps and creating her own original projects, but decided against writing them herself. While she’s involved in several projects currently in development, she’s discovered the process takes much longer than expected. Sometimes, a project she auditions for can spend six years in development before it’s actually made.

A central theme in her book, Frauds, explores whether people can truly escape their past. She believes people *do* change – experiences like love, loss, and life itself naturally shape us over time. However, she emphasizes the importance of staying connected to your roots. Her closest friends from childhood are still her best friends, and they’re meeting up soon to see Coldplay. She feels that trying to completely change who you are would mean losing the most important parts of yourself.

I’m constantly amazed by Jodie Whittaker! Even while she was busy filming ‘Frauds’ in Tenerife, she found a way to return to Cardiff and reprise her role as the Thirteenth Doctor for a special cameo in Ncuti Gatwa’s final scenes in ‘The Reality War’. It’s wonderful to see her dedication to the character and the Whoniverse, always finding a way to come back.

It was a real hassle. Nobody at the company knew what was going on, so I had to explain it as a quick job I’d picked up while back in the UK. I arrived at Gatwick airport at midnight, was picked up, and driven to Cardiff around 3:30 or 4:00 AM. Then I was picked up again at six and went straight to work. That’s when I realized memorizing science fiction dialogue is surprisingly difficult.

She describes the job as an absolute dream. “I’ve never enjoyed a job more than working on Doctor Who,” she says. “It was wonderful being part of such a close-knit team – Mandip, Brad, Tosin, all my companions, and every guest actor. I loved living and working in Wales. I hadn’t worked with Russell T Davies before, though we’d spoken often, so when he called and offered me a scene, I immediately said yes, without even needing to read it.”

So, it’s no surprise what I’d say if asked whether I’d return to the role. Yes, without a doubt! The Doctor is a character you can revisit anytime, even years later, and it’s always a thrill when the opportunity arises.

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2025-10-07 03:13