Jodie Whittaker has opened up about filming her final scenes for Doctor Who, saying she “cried her eyes out” when it was over.

The actress, 39, will return to screens for a six-part series starting on Halloween, followed by three specials which are set to air in 2022, before bowing out as the Thirteenth Doctor.

Speaking about her exit in an online Q&A, she said: “I lost it, I was absolutely gone, crying my eyes out. I know that this is the best time I will ever have on a job. I’ve felt like that from the start.

“Letting go of it, I feel I’ll be filled with a lot of grief because even thinking about it makes me upset. But this show needs new energy. The joy of this part is that you hand on your boots. I don’t know who to, but whoever it is, what a thing to be able to go - ‘you’re going to have a right time.”

She continued: “If everyone comes up to you forever going ‘I’m a Doctor Who fan’ then that’s an absolute joy. Of all the things you’re always going to be associated with, thank God it’s the thing I’ve loved so much.”

Whittaker confirmed her departure back in July after four years of playing the role in the cult sci-fi series.

She said at the time that it was “the best job I ever had”.