SINGAPORE - Doctor Who fans are delighted by British actress Jodie Whittaker's debut as the Thirteenth Doctor - and the series' first female Doctor - as they eagerly took to social media to express their joy.

While the actress (Broadchurch, 2013 - 2017) had been unveiled for the role back in July, she only made her TV appearance on Christmas Day, in a brief scene towards the end of the episode titled Twice Upon A Time.

Twitter user Miriam Skywalker, who goes by the handle @quakealex, wrote: "She's here and she's beautiful."

Twitter user @chloescamander could not put together a proper sentence because she was so excited. She tweeted: "OHMYGOD SHDKAKFJKSKXNXKSM JODIE WHITTAKER SNKDKDKDKAKNFMDJDKFJF OMFGGGGGGGG OHHHHH THATTSS JUST BRILLIANT AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH".

Others noted how groundbreaking it was for the show to have a female Doctor when all of the previous ones had been white males.

Twitter user @ALightwood_Bane wrote: "THIS SCENE WAS SO EMOTIONAL AND AFTER 54 YEARS AND 826 EPISODES (yes, really!) THE DOCTOR IS FINALLY FEMALE. WELCOME TO THE FAMILY JODIE."

Whittaker took over from actor Peter Capaldi in the role of the Doctor, an alien who can travel through space and time. The Doctor's looks can change due to this alien race's ability of "regeneration", which allows them to alter cellular structures following something that would normally result in death.

In an interview with BBC News, Whittaker had said that she was "beyond excited" about playing the role, and that the role offer had been "overwhelming, as a feminist".