Jodie Whittaker told dream of acting was a 'stupid idea'

Jodie Whittaker told dream of acting was a 'stupid idea'

Actress Jodie Whittaker's nephew had Down's syndrome and died aged just three in 2014

New Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker suffered the heartache of her nephew with Down's syndrome dying aged just three, it has been revealed.

Harry Whittaker was an actor himself as a baby in Emmerdale, sharing the role of Leo Dingle â€" who also had the condition in the ITV soap - with another boy.

But the death of Harry, who played the son of Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) and Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry), in July 2014 left the cast devastated.

Charnock tweeted a picture of Harry in a Spider-Man outfit at the time, saying: 'Our superhero. We were lucky to know you and hear you laugh. You lit up our lives, dearest, loveliest Harry.'

Whittaker, who was revealed as the new Doctor on Sunday, is an ambassado r for learning disabilities charity Mencap.

The actress previously said: 'As proud aunty to Harry it has been fantastic to be able to help raise awareness for people with learning disabilities.

'All we want is for Harry to grow up in a safe and unprejudiced society where people with Down's syndrome or any learning disability are given the support and care they need.' 

Meanwhile, 35-year-old Broadchurch star Whittaker revealed yesterday that a school careers adviser once said her dream of being an actress was a 'stupid idea'.

Whittaker was told to have a 'back-up plan' after saying at Shelley College near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire aged 15 that she wanted to go into acting.

Emmerdale's Mark Charnock, who plays Marlon Dingle, tweeted a picture of his on-screen son Harry Whittaker, who played Leo Dingle, in a Spider-Man outfit, after the boy's death in 2014

Viewers saw this tribute after the credits on Emmerdale following his death three years ago

But her mother Yvonne and father Adrian told her to 'go do it' and she left school at 16 before doing a Btec in performing arts and then attending London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama. 

Whittaker told The Sun: 'I always wanted to be an actress, and from the age of five I was using it as an excuse not to do my homework. A career adviser when I was 15 told me acting was a stupid idea.

'She said, 'You need a back-up plan', and thank God my mum and dad were completely adamant that that's the wrong way to go.

'They said, 'Get a back-up plan if it all goes pear-shaped at 30. Just go do it'.' 

Down-to-earth Whittaker, who grew up in the village of Skelmanthorpe with her older brother Kris, is expected to use her own Yorkshire accent when she appears in Doctor Who from Christmas.  

Most of her friends are still from when she grew up in Yorkshire, although she met her husband Christian Contreras, who is from Yuma, Arizona, at drama school.

Whittaker was told to have a 'back-up plan' after saying at Shelley College (pictured) in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, aged 15 that she wanted to go into acting

Whittaker she met her husband Christian Contreras, from Yuma in Arizona, at drama school

Contreras, who has appeared in BBC1 show The Syndicate and the 2012 film Zero Dark Thirty, married Whittaker in 2008 and they have a two-year-old daughter. 

Whittaker's old school has hit the headlines three times in the past seven years â€" with the most recent being a row over gender neutral toilets just last month.

Furious parents slammed the school's plans with the proposals being labelled 'wrong' after it announced proposals to make all of its toilets unisex.

The plan involves removing boys' and girls' separate loos and replacing them with an area with closed-cubicles that can be used by all.

Whittaker was pictured laughing in London yesterday with her two-year-old daughter

Whittaker (left) will takes over from Peter Capaldi (right) as the Time Lord's 13th reincarnation

In May 2016, sex pest teacher Andrew Green was banned from teaching for life after a tribunal heard he put his arm around a terrified sixth former and asked her: 'Why don't you think about things you would do with your favourite maths teacher?'

The hearing was told he made a smutty comments to the girl before inviting her for 'a one-to-one lesson', making her feel 'scared and beyond uncomfortable'.

And in September 2010 staff became so fed up with girls flouting its 'discreet' make-up policy it put in place the solution of removing the mirrors.

The tough measure was introduced, along with a total ban on make-up, to stop pupils aged 14 to 16 from crowding in to the toilets to attend to their faces.

The school's zero-tolerance policy on make-up also saw teachers being given make-up removal kits to ensure all pupils obey the rules.

Whittaker starred in all three series of the ITV drama Broadchurch as Beth Latimer, along with Charlotte Beaumont as her daughter Chloe and Andrew Buchan as her husband Mark

Doctors (l-r) William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith

The BBC revealed on Sunday that Whittaker will become the first female Doctor when she takes over from Peter Capaldi as the 13th reincarnation of the Time Lord.

Glasgow-born actor Capaldi, 59, who first stepped into the Tardis in 2013, will be seen for the last time by viewers in this year's Christmas special. 

His departure coincides with that of the show's longtime lead writer and executive producer, Steven Moffat, who announced he was quitting in 2016.

Whittaker, who starred in Broadchurch as Beth Latimer, will team up with the drama's creator Chris Chibnall as he takes over from Moffat as executive producer. 

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