\"Doctor Who\" follows the interstellar adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling alien who is able to regenerate into a new form. Whittaker, the first woman to play the role, is officially the thirteenth Doctor. Since the show was rebooted in 2005, the character has also been played by Christopher Eccleston, Matt Smith, David Tennant and Peter Capaldi.

\"PHOTO:
James Pardon/BBC Studios
PHOTO: Jo Martin as Ruth Clayton in season 12 of the BBC show, "Doctor Who."
>

In Sunday's episode, Whittaker's Doctor meets Martin's Ruth, a tour guide who is later revealed to be The Doctor as well. More specifically, she's a different incarnation of the character, and as we learn, she's part of the current Doctor's past.

However, Whittaker's Doctor has no memory of ever being that Doctor, whose personality and tactics are vastly different from her own. In fact, Martin's Doctor can barely stand Whittaker's Doctor.

Whittaker's Doctor -- who'd previously been warned by her old frenemy The Master that everything she knows is wrong -- then realizes that Martin's Doctor is part of a mysterious alternate timeline.

View this post on Instagram

Welcome to the TARDIS... #DoctorWho

A post shared by Doctor Who Official (@bbcdoctorwho) on Jan 28, 2020 at 3:26am PST

And, as if she doesn't have enough to worry about, Sunday's episode also marked the return of a fan-favorite character -- John Barrowman's Captain Jack Harkness -- who warns her that \"the Lone Cyberman\" is coming for her.

The official Doctor Who took to Twitter after the show's airing and, while posting a GIF of the big reveal, asked fans, \"Who else was shook at THIS moment?!\" Fan reaction was, obviously, intense.

\"PHOTO:
James Pardon/BBC Studios
PHOTO: Jo Martin as Ruth Clayton in season 12 of the BBC show, "Doctor Who."
>

\"Doctor Who\" airs on BBC America Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/doctor-casts-1st-black-doctor-shows-56-year/story?id=68582584","legacySlug":"/culture/story/doctor-casts-1st-black-doctor-shows-56-year-68582584","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"16:07","publishDate":"01-28-2020","updatedTime":"16:07","updatedDate":"01-28-2020","socialImage":{"alt":"Jodie Whittaker stars as The Doctor and Jo Martin as Ruth Clayton on the 12th season of the BBC show \"Doctor Who.\"","credit":"Ben Blackall/BBC Studios","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/doctor-who-01-bbc-jc-200128_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"1/28/2020 16:07:18 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":68582584,"headline":"'Doctor Who' casts 1st black Doctor","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA DOCTOR WHO","description":"Jo Martin plays an alternate universe version of The Doctor.","duration":"21:48","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/10/181031_vod_orig_popc_tennant_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["133144263","132956835","132488083"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"May 20, 2026","headline":"Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","section":"News","slug":"/video/133144263","id":"133144263","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"May 14, 2026","headline":"Trump meets Xi Jinping in high-stakes Beijing summit","section":"News","slug":"/video/132956835","id":"132956835","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump meets Xi Jinping in high-stakes Beijing summit","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump meets Xi Jinping in high-stakes Beijing summit","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 29, 2026","headline":"Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","section":"News","slug":"/video/132488083","id":"132488083","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"'Doctor Who' casts 1st black Doctor","description":"Jo Martin plays an alternate universe version of The Doctor.","duration":"21:48","uploadDate":"01-28-2020","publication":"01-28-2020","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/10/181031_vod_orig_popc_tennant_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/10/181031_vod_orig_popc_tennant_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/doctor-casts-1st-black-doctor-shows-56-year-68582584"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133616358","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616342","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133522899","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133584123","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133579397","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133482839","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133415361","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133414032","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133380485","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133358298","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133350119","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307515","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307527","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133282665","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133220149","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133179167","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133144373","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133144059","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133143081","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:culture:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"culture","title":"'Doctor Who' casts 1st black Doctor","pubTime":"11:07","pubDate":"01-28-2020","modTime":"11:07","modDate":"01-28-2020","taxonomyTags":"none","id":68582584,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"'Doctor Who' casts 1st black Doctor","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA DOCTOR WHO","videoId":68582584,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/culture/story/doctor-casts-1st-black-doctor-shows-56-year-68582584"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/68582584","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/68582584","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};