THE first Yorkshire ‘Dr Who’ may well be a West Yorkshire lass but she also has links to Barnsley.
Jodie Whittaker, 36, is currently starring as The 13th Doctor on the BBC One series, and made her debut on Sunday night.
Her Yorkshire connections have been widely reported but her Barnsley-born dad Adrian Whittaker said not everyone knew she had Barnsley roots.
Adrian, 68, said: “Although I live in Huddersfield I’m Barnsley at heart. You wouldn’t think that a woman who is staring in a BBC series would have a Barnsley connection.
“She’s hit the jackpot with this role. I’m over the moon and it’s fantastic to see that she is successful.
“She’d always wanted to be an actress and she studied so hard and she’s starred in various roles throughout the years but this one is her biggest yet.”
Jodie’s great grandad Harold Whittaker was born in the 1890s in Darton and was a renowned pigeon fancier with a loft in Sackup Lane. He spent his entire working life at Woolley Colliery before he died in the early 1980s.
Her grandad, Harry Whittaker, was also born in Darton in 1918. He followed in his father’s footsteps to work at Woolley Colliery before taking over a pub in Kirklees. He died in the mid 1980s.
Jodie’s father, Adrian was born in 1950 in Barnsley and attended Barnsley Tech where he studied a commercial course before moving to Skelmanthorpe in Huddersfield where Jodie was born and raised.
