Posted in: BBC, Doctor Who, TV, YouTube | Tagged: bbc, doctor who, Millie Gibson, Ncuti Gatwa

Doctor Who: Hartnell Meets Gatwa in Updated "Adventure" Final Scene

In the updated Doctor Who docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time, William Hartnell (David Bradley) sees Ncuti Gatwa - not Matt Smith.

Written by Mark Gatiss, 2013's An Adventure in Space and Time celebrated the 50th anniversary of the long-running show by taking viewers back to the beginning for a chance to see how BBC's Doctor Who made it to the screen. In the final scene, William Hartnell (David Bradley) looks up from the controls of the TARDIS to see Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor – a symbol of the long-lasting television legacy that Hartnell helped create. It's now ten years later, and Doctor Who is about to officially begin celebrating its 60th anniversary this weekend with the release of the first of three special episodes starring David Tennant & Catherine Tate, "The Star Beast." But there's a whole lot more going on leading up to the big event – including the creation of "The Whonivese" hub on BBC iPlayer, a one-stop-shopping destination for just about anything & everything having to do with the show.

But at the time, "Adventure" wasn't included – with showrunner Russell T. Davies playing coy about why it wasn't other than that fans should expect it soon. During an airing of the docudrama on BBC Four on Thursday (the official birthdate of Doctor Who), we learned the reason for the delay. To symbolize how Doctor Who continues influencing new generations of viewers, the end scene that's now included finds Bradley's Hartnell looking up to see Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor (with the updated version being added to BBC iPlayer for those who missed the original airing). Gatwa will appear in the upcoming 60th-anniversary event and is currently filming a new series of adventures with Davies and Millie Gibson (companion Ruby Sunday).

Along with Jemma Redgrave (Kate Lethbridge-Stewart), Aneurin Barnard (Roger ap Gwilliam), and Jack Forsyth-Noble (Will), Doctor Who Magazine #589 also confirmed that Bhav Joshi (Wedding Season), Eilidh Loan (Traces), Pete MacHale (Gangs of London), Miles Yekinni (Slow Horses), and Hemi Yeroham (Mamma Mia!) have joined the cast for the new series. In addition, Jinkx Monsoon (RuPaul's Drag Race) was also confirmed to have joined the cast – followed by Jonathan Groff (Glee, Mindhunter) and Indira Varma (Obsession, Game of Thrones) – as The Duchess – in May 2023. Bonnie Langford was confirmed to be returning as Melanie Bush in June 2023, along with Lenny Rush (Am I Being Unreasonable) as Morris. In early August 2023, we also learned that Gemma Arrowsmith (Gemma Arrowsmith Sketched Out) and Mary Malone (Vera, The Prince) had joined the Christmas Special – while Majid Mehdizadeh-Valoujerdy (Hollyoaks) and Billy Brayshaw (Still So Awkward) had joined the Series 14 cast. In November 2023, we also learned that Nicola Coughlan (Derry Girls, Bridgerton) was set to guest star in the 2024 Christmas Special. On the writing side, we learned late last month that Kate Herron (Loki, Sex Education) & Briony Redman (Pont Brec) had co-written the episode that Groff and Varma are starring in during the upcoming series.

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