Ncuti Gatwa shot a Doctor Who scene with the first-ever Doctor!

This month marks the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who. The show will celebrate the milestone by airing three specials, seeing David Tennant return as the Doctor alongside fan-favourite companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate). Moreover, these specials will also introduce us to our Fifteenth Doctor, played by Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa, who will become the first queer and Black actor to portray the titular hero.

Gatwa recently teased his debut season, which will officially start in 2024. He revealed that there are many exciting cameos, including a scene he shot with the first actor to ever play the Doctor, William Hartnell. “I shouldn’t say this, but there was a scene that I somehow shot with the first Doctor, William Hartnell,” Gatwa told GQ Men.

Hartnell played the Doctor for four seasons from 1963 to 1966, occasionally returning afterwards for cameo appearances. He sadly passed away in 1975 at age 67 from heart failure. His cameo in the upcoming series will make use of deepfake technology; it’ll be interesting to see how they incorporate him into the story.

Funnily enough, the villain in the upcoming 60th anniversary specials, the Toymaker (played by Neil Patrick Harris), first appeared during William Hartnell’s original run. Is there some sort of connection? Perhaps.

“We ended up in the same scene together and to see that history, and now a Black man as the Doctor… I’m very, very, very grateful,” Gatwa added.

This isn’t the first time that the modern era of Doctor Who has included the first-ever Doctor. Game of Thrones veteran David Bradley played the First Doctor for a number of episodes during Jodie Whittaker’s run as the Thirteenth Doctor.

I’m not sure how returning showrunner Russell T. Davies will feel about Gatwa dropping this massive bombshell. Revealing a scene like this exists before it airs is one way to get into trouble.

Cheekily, Tom Baker says he’s “mildly contemptuous” of other Doctor Who actors

One former Doctor who isn’t likely to appear in the new season is Tom Baker, who played the fourth Time Lord from 1974 to 1981. Now 89, he spoke to Radio Times Magazine regarding how he feels about his fellow Doctors Who. “I avoid them, you know,” he said. “Not with any malice. A degree of contempt, perhaps but mildly, mildly contemptuous.”

Baker is being cheeky here, as when he was asked which of the other Doctor Who actors he’d like to have lunch with. “Unthinkable! Fancy being round a table with old Doctor Whos,” he said. “Though I’d quite like to walk into a restaurant and find 12 of them around the table – I’d enjoy doing that double take, as I desperately tried to remember who they were. I could keep that going for hours. Oh, I can feel the malice rising.”

Don’t misconstrue this as Baker honestly feeling antipathy towards other Doctor Who actors. “Oh! Is this the next Doctor Who?” he asked when shown a picture of Ncuti Gatwa. “A handsome young man! Marvelous cheekbones. These things are important as you get near to death.”

Doctor Who will return for the first of its three 60th anniversary specials on BBC and Disney+ on November 25.

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h/t Independent