Big things are afoot in the Doctor Who universe, including some reports claiming the current Doctor, Jodie Whittaker, is leaving the BBC show after Season 13. This year's Doctor Who holiday special, Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks, aired on New Year's Day. The game-changing holiday special saw the return of Doctor Who alum John Barrowman, once again reprising his role as Captain Jack Harkness, and the unveiling of a new Dalek design.

Revolution of the Daleks also proved to be a pivotal episode for setting up expectations for Doctor Who Season 13, which is expected to premiere later in 2021. One of the biggest changes, as revealed in Revolution of the Daleks, was the exit of Bradley Walsh as Graham and Tosin Cole as Ryan. Walsh and Cole have played two of the Thirteenth Doctor's (Whittaker) three companions for the past two seasons. Meanwhile, Mandip Gill will return as Yasmin for Season 13 along with a new companion played by John Bishop (via Vulture), who was introduced in a teaser trailer following Revolution of the Daleks.

Now, let's talk Whittaker. On Monday, reports from outlets including Variety and IGN emerged citing a report from UK outlet The Mirror that Whittaker is allegedly exiting Doctor Who after Season 13. To be clear, no official statement from the BBC has been made on Whittaker's alleged exit. In fact, a BBC spokesperson told Variety, "We won’t be commenting on any speculation around Jodie’s future on the show."

Despite a lack of official confirmation on Whittaker's exit as the Thirteen Doctor (and plans for casting the Fourteenth Doctor), there could be some merit to these claims. In the modern era of Doctor Who — beginning with Christopher Eccleston's season — actors who have played the Doctor have typically stayed in the role for two to three seasons before exiting and allowing the character to regenerate into the form of another actor. Season 13 will mark Whittaker's third season as the Doctor, which opens up room for speculation this will be her last season on the BBC series.

When it comes down to the nuts and bolts of Doctor Who Season 13, information is scarce. We're not sure what the plot of Season 13 will be or what season-long arcs will be introduced. We do know that Chris Chibnall will return as showrunner. We also know Season 13, which began filming in November 2020, will be a shorter season. Per Digital Spy, the next season's episode order was cut from 11 episodes down to eight due to COVID-19-related concerns.

Doctor Who Season 13 is expected later in 2021. In the meantime, check out the exciting teaser for John Bishop's Doctor Who character.