On Sunday, Huddersfield added another string to its celebrity bow when Skelmanthorpe-born Jodie Whittaker was named the 13th Doctor.

We've already given the world a Captain of the Starship Enterprise (yes, Sir Patrick Stewart was born in Mirfield but he has a great love for all things Huddersfield and a university building named after him) and now we will become known as the birthplace of the first ever female Doctor Who.

It's huge news that should be celebrated, not just by people in Huddersfield, but fans around the world. Arguably the Beeb's most prestigious role has been given to a Yorkshire lass , taking a galactic leap for gender equality and making the bold statement that yes, women can man the Tardis too.

Which makes some of the reaction to the announcement utterly enraging.

Anyone who thinks we don't need feminism any more need only read some of the comments left beneath Facebook news posts or even check the Examiner's own Facebook page.

'The Doctor can't be a woman.' 'I can't watch this anymore.' 'Are they going to rename it Nurse Who?' 'It's PC gone mad'.

It's like the idea that Doctor Who - an alien - might take a female form baffles some as much as their bilious comments baffle me.

Jodie Whittaker is the first woman to play Doctor Who

(The 'Nurse Who' thing especially makes me rage - I went to school with incredible women who are now doctors, and also know male nurses. Do people really still think men have to be one and women the other?!)

The show has always had strong female characters, not only the assistants but legends like River Song and Madame Vastra.

Which makes it all the more appropriate that we have a female Doctor - and all the more important.

A video on Facebook showed a young girl's utter delight that the new Doctor was a girl. The excitement in her face was a delight to watch - and a stark reminder that for years, the show's young female fans have only ever known a Who universe where a man is the Doctor and a woman the assistant.

Jodie Whittaker has the important duty of telling these young girls - and boys too - that women are just as capable of being kick-ass Time Lords as the fantastic men that have come before them.

Unfortunately, Whittaker has also had to deal with the reductive nonsense splashed across the Sun and Daily Mail websites, who decided that the most appropriate way to celebrate her new role was to publish gratuitous stories about her previous nude scenes.

Tell me that would have happened if the new Doctor was a man.

In 2017 it should be no shock at all that an acclaimed film and television actress has been chosen to lead one of the world's most-loved sci-fi series.

Yet there are corners of the internet that seem determined to sneer and demean any attempt to make our culture reflective of our reality.

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What do you think?

"It's always been a man, why change it?"

Well, Parliament used to all be all-male. So were a lot of newsrooms, company boardrooms, councils, the list goes on. And brave women (and men) fought to change it (and still are today) because just because something has always been a certain way, doesn't mean it's right.

I applaud the BBC for fighting for change and equality in a way that will reach audiences around the world. I can't wait to see what a Yorkshire lass brings to this iconic role.

And I'll keep rallying against the naysayers, not just about Doctor Who but in any arena where women are ridiculed or demeaned, just like the Doctor's Promise: "Never cruel nor cowardly. Never give up. Never give in."