Jodie Whittaker "spent a lot of time crying" when she was cast as the first female Doctor in 'Doctor Who'.

Jodie Whittaker

Jodie Whittaker

The 36-year-old actress made history when she was hired as the 13th actor and first woman to play the Time Lord in the hit long-running BBC sci-fi drama, and has admitted she shed several tears when the reality of her groundbreaking role finally hit her.

She said: "It was a pretty amazing moment for me and not one that I ever thought would happen. I'm a girl born in the eighties and the Doctor did not look like me, so it was a big moment.

"I've spent a lot of time crying about it. I always knew I wanted to be an actress but I didn't ever dream of becoming the Doctor because it wasn't within the realm of possibility ... it's finally here!"

Jodie says she felt both "excited and terrified" during her first day on set, and although she couldn't reveal any spoilers, she did let slip that her first scene involved an "important speech".

She added: "I was thrown into the deep end during my first week of filming, which I'm not allowed to tell you anything about.

"I had an important speech with very important lines to say. Obviously, the first take of the first shot is exciting and terrifying for everyone - but when we moved on from the very first shot on to a different angle, I thought, 'Okay ... this is tattooed on film forever, so I must be the Doctor'."

The actress will be joined by Bradley Walsh as her companion for the upcoming series, and has said she loves how "daft" the actor is.

Speaking at American fan convention Comic-Con, Jodie said: "Bradley's daft. He's a grown man, but he's like a child. He's so naughty. I've never had so many fart noises on set between takes. I'll say to him, 'I was doing my hero speech.' And he'll reply, 'I know, but it was funny.'"

'Doctor Who' will return to screens later this Autumn.