Posted in: BBC, Disney+, Doctor Who, Preview, TV | Tagged: bbc, doctor who, Millie Gibson, Ncuti Gatwa, russell t davies

Doctor Who: Dobson, Greenidge Join New Series; Moffat's Writing Room

Anita Dobson and Michelle Greenidge have joined the cast of the new series of BBC's Doctor Who; Steven Moffat shows us his writing room.

When it comes to what's happening with BBC & Disney+'s Doctor Who after this November's 60th-anniversary event, showrunner Russell T. Davies has found the right mix of dropping intel and holding onto spoilers that's making the journey to November a lot more bearable. We know Ncuti Gatwa will be taking over the TARDIS as The Fifteenth Doctor, with Millie Gibson's Ruby Sunday joining in on the adventures. Since that time, we learned that UNIT and Jemma Redgrave's Kate Lethbridge-Stewart would also be appearing, with Aneurin Barnard (1899, Peaky Blinders) joining the cast as Roger ap Gwilliam. Now, we have two more names to add to the cast list, with Anita Dobson (EastEnders) and Michelle Greenidge (After Life) joining the next series (interesting how they're not calling it Series 14) in undisclosed roles.

And with his play The Unfriend currently running at the Chichester Festival Theater (directed by Mark Gatiss), Steven Moffat takes viewers on a tour of his writing room to show off "inspirations" that fans of Doctor Who, Sherlock, Dracula, and more will appreciate:

How They Found "Brilliant" Ncuti Gatwa to Lead "Doctor Who"

In Doctor Who Magazine #586 (which you can order here), Davies confirmed that Casting Director Andy Pryor was charged with bringing the creative team "the best in the land," with Davies and producer Phil Collinson confirming that they auditioned "all backgrounds, all genders," including one non-binary actor. The duo also confirmed that another actor was seriously being considered for The Doctor heading into the final audition… and then (as Collinson puts it), "in walked Ncuti [Gatwa] and absolutely stole the part. He took control of it and did things with it that I'd never seen an actor playing 'Doctor Who' do. It was just extraordinary." In fact, Tranter described Gatwa's audition as "the most extraordinary" one that she's ever seen ("He was the Doctor").

Davies On What They Were Looking For & "Brilliant" Ncuti Gatwa: "I think, as a rule, we were looking for younger – most of the people we saw were under 30 – but not as a definite rule, and kind of new talent. Ncuti's not exactly new. He's world-famous already with 'Sex Education.' But we weren't looking for an older, established face. And in he walked. The last person to audition. It sounds like one of those stories you tell as an anecdote, but Ncuti was absolutely the last person in, and everything clicked into place. I sat there thinking, 'Why didn't we just offer [Ncuti the role]? Why did we need to audition the man from 'Sex Education'? Of course, he's brilliant."

Welcoming "Brilliantly Confident" Millie Gibson to the TARDIS

Referring back to Gibson's September 2022 audition, executive producers Jane Tranter found Gibson to be "brilliantly confident and centered and just a shining star," who "held her own, in her own way, as Ruby would with [Gatwa's] Doctor"  and that things" just clicked between them." Collinson shared how Gatwa "came down to London on his day off and did a day of auditioning with us," with Davies reminding "Who-storians" that Christopher Eccleston did that very same thing when it came time to audition an actress to play Rose Tyler. And as impressed as they were with what Gibson was bringing to the role, they were soon far from alone. We showed those auditions tapes to the BBC and to Disney, and everyone instantly went, 'Millie, Millie, Millie.'"

Davies Had His Eye on Millie Gibson Since Her "Coronation Street" Days: I'd had my eye on Millie for a while because I'm still watching 'Coronation Street' [Gibson played Kelly Neelan from 2019 to 2022] and, I tell you, the writers obviously loved her. Over four years, I noticed her getting more and more to do. That reached the most extraordinary synthesis of plots where she was on a drug heist, and her father had been kidnapped, and she was being accused of murder, at the same time as she was winning North-West Regional Hairdresser of the Year!"

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