BBC told some staff the next Doctor Who would be a man to keep the Jodie Whittaker casting a secret

Radio Times

“We found out it would be Jodie the same time as everybody else, watching the Wimbledon final," says visual effects producer Louise Hastings, adding: “The BBC actually had us quote her first scene before we knew it was gonna be Jodie, via storyboards. And the storyboards had been drawn with a man as the Doctor, so that was a bit of a surprise!"