He says the issue of her gender "will be irrelevant almost immediately."

Reactions to Jodie Whittaker being cast as the 13th Doctor have been largely positive. As the first woman to lead the long-running “Doctor Who” franchise, however, she’s had to endure exactly the kind of backlash that is part and parcel of such events. David Tennant — the 10th Doctor and a castmate of Whittaker’s on “Broadchurch” — doubled down on his praise during an appearance on “The Late Show,” calling her casting “brilliant. I can’t think of someone better to join the gang and be poised to take it to a whole new level. It’s great.”

“Whenever the Doctor changes there’s a backlash because that’s a character that people love, so people get very affectionate about the Doctor they knew,” he added. Tennant is in a unique position to comment on this, having experienced it himself: “Who’s the weasley looking guy? Who’s this? I like the last guy,” he remembered people saying of his own casting. “This is not gonna work for me. This show is dead to me. I resign from the Internet.”

Tennant starred on the show from 2005-2010, and Whittaker’s tenure will begin later this year with the Christmas special. As for Whittaker’s gender, Tennant says it “will be irrelevant almost immediately.” Watch the full segment below.

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