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Jodie Whittaker nearly died while filming Doctor Who series 12

Being the Doctor sounds like a dangerous job

jodie whittaker
Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
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Jodie Whittaker has opened up about a terrifying experience where she was told she could have died while on the set of the upcoming series of Doctor Who. Chatting on The Graham Norton Show, which airs on Friday night, Jodie explained that she had a close encounter with a sac spider, a highly poisonous spider, while filming in South Africa.

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Jodie opened up about playing the Doctor

She explained: "Unbeknownst to me, the crew was filming a huge sac spider, and no one told me how terrifying and dangerous it was, and it crawled down my face and inside my costume – I absolutely bricked it and can’t repeat what I said. I found out after that I could have died! It was horrific."

READ: Find out why Jodie Whittaker really left her role on Trust Me

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Series 12 will air on New Year's Day

Chatting about the upcoming series, she continued: "I can’t tell you much, but it’s very ambitious and kicks off with a two-parter, with the first part on New Year’s Day. It is really exciting and it’s great to have the team back together. I can also tell you that Stephen Fry and Lenny Henry are part of the ensemble. With the show everything is a secret, so you’re getting nothing else!" Jodie shot to fame after being announced as the 13th Doctor, and she opened up about her new-found fame.

READ: Doctor Who's Jodie Whittaker defends the show following criticism

She said: "It’s an interesting thing and it’s all over the world and you have this weird narcissism thing where you think everyone is watching you. The most embarrassing thing happened to me yesterday on the tube. I was standing on the platform with my empty reusable cup and an elderly gentleman walked towards me and put his arm into my space and I was like, ‘What are you doing?’ He said sorry and explained he was trying to put some money in my cup! He had no idea who I was!”