Quotes

[on being hired as the first female as The Doctor in Doctor Who (2005) I want to tell the fans not to be scared by my gender. Because this is a really exciting time, and Doctor Who represents everything that's exciting about change. The fans have lived through so many changes, and this is only a new, different one, not a fearful one.

It feels completely overwhelming, as a feminist, as a woman, as an actor, as a human, as someone who wants to continually push themselves and challenge themselves, and not be boxed in by what you're told you can and can't be.

[on her 13th Doctor costume] Any age, any gender - anyone can wear it! You're not dressing as a girl and you're not dressing as a boy... you're dressing as The Doctor.

I've never smoked. I have to smoke for films sometimes and I smoke like a teenager without inhaling - you can tell! I'm not cool enough to pull it off.

The pressure on any actor coming into the role - man or woman - is huge because they're big boots to fill. And for me there's been 12 pairs of boots. Well, 13 if you count [50th anniversary guest star] John Hurt. Then we could throw in David Bradley [from the last Christmas special]! That's a lot of boots! In a way, though, there is liberation in that new direction: the pressure is less for me because I can only do this my way. All the rules are out the window! That's what makes it so fun.

There's the chiselled superhero that we're used to seeing and we've all grown up with. But Doctor Who has never been that, which is wonderful. It's attainable in so many ways.

I am a quiet person's nightmare. The only time I shut up is when I'm reading, because I'm a book geek.

I exist on a caffeine level ten.

I'll never be able to quantify how important Venus (2006) was for me or my career. I ticked a huge box.

I'm not cerebral in any way. Education, for me, was a nightmare. You put someone talking in front of me, and I cannot engage with that. I think that's why I'm an actor; if I can physically be in it, I get it.

The thing that always surprises me is I have a face like Play-Doh. I always think I'm quite contained. Then when I see it, I'm not.