Ncuti Gatwa was like a “thunderbolt” in Doctor Who audition

With Doctor Who fans eagerly awaiting the end of the Jodie Whittaker era, thoughts are beginning to turn toward the new incoming Time Lord, Ncuti Gatwa. Every Doctor has a unique personality, so what can we expect from Gatwa’s?

As long-time fans will remember, getting information out of returning showrunner Russell T. Davies is nearly impossible. He’s returning for the upcoming fourteenth season and is no more eager to share than he was back when he directing David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. However, speaking to Time Magazine, Davies revealed what Gatwa was like during his audition.

Gatwa is honored in the magazine as part of the “100 Next” list. “The man is like a thunderbolt, and he keeps winning new ground: Ncuti Gatwa’s creation of Eric Effiong in Netflix’s Sex Education went soaring around the world,” Davies wrote. “The character of the gay sidekick is meant to stay in the shadows. Not Eric! He strutted in, stole the spotlight, and I think a gracious, awestruck cast simply stood back and allowed him the room.”

"I’d watched him onscreen, and thought I had the measure of him, until he walked into the room for Doctor Who audition. Bang! Thunderbolt. And bear in mind, for U.K. TV, the part of the Doctor is the Crown Jewels, it’s history, it’s tradition, it’s … Oh, sod that, I said, and threw it at him. He’s conquered the world. Now all of time and space is his."

Gatwa shared the comments on his Instagram account, telling his new boss, “Your words are a constant blessing in my life, it seems,” with Davies replying: “Time. Lord.”

Nobody is quite sure when Gatwa will debut as the next Doctor. All we can say at this point is that Jodie Whittaker will leave at the conclusion of the upcoming centenary special, “The Power of the Doctor.”

David Tennant calls new Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa “brilliant”

We also know that David Tennant is returning to the show alongside Catherine Tate. Some have speculated that Tennant will somehow play the Fourteenth Doctor, with Gatwa then taking over to become the Fifteenth.

“Ncuti is brilliant,” Tennant told the BBC. “He’s a lovely, lovely man and he’s full of beans and he’s really talented. I mean he’s like scary-talented. So I’m thrilled for every Doctor Who fan for what’s to come and I include myself in that number.”

Tennant also talked a little about how the offer for he and Tate returned came about. “Suddenly Russell let us know that he was taking over the show again and he would be back fully in charge and would we come and play a little bit for him?” he recalled. “[W] thought if he’s doing it, we can’t let these young people have all the fun.”

Doctor Who will return to the BBC with “The Power of the Doctor” in October. The show will then take a break for over a year before returning for its 60th anniversary in 2023.

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