Ncuti Gatwa will play the fourteenth Doctor Who, succeeding Jodie Whittaker in the role. He will be the first black actor to play a primary incarnation of the character and the second overall, following Jo Martin’s appearance as the Fugitive Doctor.
He gained fame as Eric Effiong on the Netflix comedy-drama series Sex Education (2019–present), which earned him a BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor in Television and three BAFTA Television Award nominations for Best Male Comedy Performance. He’s already popular among viewers in their teens and 20s, with more than 2.5 million Instagram followers.
Showruhner Russell T Davies said the decision was made in February, and kept secret to be launched as part of the coverage leading up to today’s BAFTA Awards ceremony in the UK. Gatwa impressed him in a “blazing” audition. “It was our last audition. It was our very last one,” the writer and producer said. “We thought we had someone, and then in he came and stole it. I’m properly, properly thrilled. It’s going to be a blazing future.”
[Thanks to Jon Meltzer for the story.]
Discover more from File 770
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
Ncuti Gatwa was born in Rwanda but raised in Scotland, which is where he trained as an actor. So he will be the fourth Scottish actor to take on the role of the Doctor.
I look forward to seeing him as the Doctor.
With Russell T. Davies doing scripts again, I’m even happier. Jodie Whittaker got short-changed for compelling stories.
I look forward to the next Doctor!
New Doctor Day is always exciting
I can’t imagine that the usual suspects with have any issues with this!
This is really exciting. He’s such a great actor.
Gatwa is a terrific actor. I’m looking forward to where they go with this incarnation.
Wow! A great looking Doctor. And a smile almost as good as the 4th Doctor’s.
Guess he’s gonna have romantic interests.
Well, yay! I expected them to return to a white guy. That’s so boring.
I also admit to having a little grin at the head explosions this will set off.
I won’t lie, when I saw the news this morning on Facebook my first reaction was that he looks too normal to be a good Doctor. (I imprinted on Tom Baker’s Doctor as a teenager.) But no one, not even me, needs to answer to my first impressions on anything, so I’m sure that Gatwa will do well in the role.
I for one welcome our new Gallifreyan Time Lord
Hadn’t heard of him until today, but I’m looking forward to his version of the Doctor. And expecting screams of how Russell Davies has destroyed someone’s childhood.
Sheila Strickland says Hadn’t heard of him until today, but I’m looking forward to his version of the Doctor. And expecting screams of how Russell Davies has destroyed someone’s childhood.
Those would be screams of how Davies has retroactively destroyed their childhood because of course what he does in the future sullies their memories of what happened fifty or more years ago.
You noticed we get this with the current Trek? It’s ruining Trek For me, they exclaim. Now it isn’t, just don’t watch it. I’m expecting Strange New Worlds to get really bitter tirades, errr, reviews.
@rochrist: You owe me a new sarcasm detector, my existing one just exploded.
@Cat Eldridge: ” I’m expecting Strange New Worlds to get really bitter tirades, errr, reviews.” Oh, I imagine they’ve already happened. Not that I’ve looked, because I enjoyed the first episode. I subscribed to Paramount Plus so I could watch it, and now I’m binging on Star Trek: Picard. Yay for new Star Trek episodes!
@Cat Eldridge
I don’t have streaming, but the SNW Spock is too pretty for my taste. I can only assume this is Yet Another Trek Universe, in search of more income for Paramount.
I had never heard of Mr. Gatwa so I looked up his filmography. I won’t be watching Sex Education. The preview on Netflix actually offended me though it did not show him.
As for strange looking Doctor Whos. I figure part of that is what they choose to costume him in.
Also:
Eccleston – English
Tennant – Scottish
Smith – English
Capaldi – Scottish
Whittaker – English
Gatwa – Scottish
I think the Welsh should be complaining more.
I suspect one of File770’s Usual Subjects will now be complaining about how he wasn’t picked to be the first Hispanic Doctor.