 Some said that a female Doctor would be a good role model for young girls, while others felt the Doctor was only ever meant to be male, or criticised the casting as an exercise in political correctness.Whittaker debuted in the 2017 Christmas special "Twice Upon a Time".In November 2018, BBC confirmed that the twelfth series, Whittaker's second series, began production in November 2018, debuting in January 2020.