Posted in: BBC, Disney+, TV | Tagged: doctor who, Ncuti Gatwa

Doctor Who: Ncuti Gatwa on Doctor's Swagger; Racist, Homophobic Fans

In a Vanity Fair profile, Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa discusses the Fifteenth Doctor's swagger and dealing with racist, homophobic fans.

Fans of Showrunner Russell T. Davies' Ncuti Gatwa (Fifteenth Doctor), Millie Gibson (Ruby Sunday), and Varada Sethu's (Belinda Chandra)-starring Doctor Who will be keeping their radars focused on Friday evening's BBC Children in Need event for what's expected to be a special look at the upcoming Steven Moffat-penned, Nicola Coughlan-starring Doctor Who Christmas Special "Joy to the World." But for this go-around, our spotlight is specifically on Gatwa, who had some interesting insights to share on two very different topics in Vanity Fair's Hollywood 2025 Issue, which went live earlier this week.

"When you've been around for thousands of years, you pick up a slight pep in your step. If you were getting the chance to be reborn and reborn and reborn and reborn, you'd get excited. And so curiosity and excitement were the two qualities I really wanted to imbue him with," Gatwa shared when asked about his Fifteenth Doctor's swagger, explaining that it comes from the combination of experience and innocence that resides within the Doctor. Unfortunately, there are some out there who didn't take to Gatwa as the Doctor even before a single frame was shot. How did Gatwa handle the racist and homophobic pushback?

"I wouldn't be the only Black lead that's taken over a sci-fi franchise that would have received that sort of treatment. Unfortunately, those are voices that exist in sci-fi fandoms—but they're not the only voices," Gatwa shared, noting that he looks to the larger, positive fanbase for support and appreciation. "I just remember feeling a lot of warmth and love, being embraced into a big nerd family. When we're shooting 'Doctor Who,' there are fans outside the studio or on location every single time, be it at 4 a.m., be it minus-12 degrees. I think that's beautiful what the show means to them, so I concentrate on that more than anything. I don't want to invalidate the very real thing that is racism, homophobia. I don't act as if they don't exist or they don't affect me. They do. But I try to pay it no mind and look at the many, many positives that came from joining the Whoniverse."

Doctor Who & Season 3: What's Going On?

Okay, so it's time for a brief history lesson. In an interview with SFX Magazine at the end of August, Davies had this to share about the future of the series: "It's an industry decision; it's like any business – these things take time. I think the decision will come after the transmission of season two. That's what we're expecting, that's what we've always been heading towards." Davies' comments were in response to rumblings on social media during the weeks prior, speculating that somehow Disney wasn't happy with its deal with the BBC and Bad Wolf. With us so far? Great!

That brings us to The Graham Norton Show, with reports from the taping that Gatwa had revealed that the team would begin filming Season 3/Season 16 in 2025. Joining Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez (Emilia Pérez), Miranda Hart (I Haven't Been Entirely Honest with You), Kevin Kline (Disclaimer), and Rag 'n' Bone Man in support of his run in the National Theatre's production of The Importance of Being Earnest, Gatwa had this to say: "It is all going well. We did the second series this year, the Christmas special is coming up, and we are filming a third series next year."

Except… that wasn't what ended up airing. Instead, Gatwa is shown saying, "We finished the second season earlier this year, we've got the Christmas episode coming out … at Christmas … But it's been amazing." Well, you can imagine how that got the rumors and gossip going on social media and pop culture news sites, with many wondering if the edit was done at the request of the BBC. Earlier today, Deadline Hollywood reported that the popular talk show "made the edit to liven up Gatwa's answer and was not obeying a 'sinister' request from BBC bosses" (DH's wording). Reportedly, the Doctor Who team wasn't involved in arranging Gatwa's "Graham Norton" visit, and the BBC is standing by its previous comments that a decision on a third season won't happen until after Season 2 debuts (with Spring 2025 being eyed). "As we've said previously, the decision on season three will be made after season two transmits, and as always, we don't comment on speculation," shared a BBC spokesperson.

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