Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
New Dr Who got Rep break
AN actor who got his big break in the Dundee-based comedy series Bob Servant is the new Doctor Who.
Ncuti Gatwa, who also impressed at Dundee Rep early in his career, will become the 14th Doctor, taking over from Jodie Whittaker.
Gatwa came to Scotland with his family in 1994 to escape genocide in his home nation of Rwanda.
He was partly raised in Fife, where he went to Dunfermline High.
The 29-year-old soon began working with the Rep, where he earned praise for his performances in plays such as Hecuba and Victoria.
He landed a role in the 2014 sitcom Bob Servant alongside Dundee star Brian Cox.
He would go on to star in a TV adaptation of the Iain Banks novel Stonemouth, before landing a leading role in Netflix’s Sex Education, about socially awkward high school student Otis (Asa Butterfield) and his sex therapist mother Jean (Gillian Anderson).
Speaking at the Virgin Media TV Baftas yesterday, he said: “I feel really happy that I can now talk about it because I got cast in February and I have been keeping it a secret since then.
“So it is nice to finally breathe. But also really nervous.
“It is an incredibly iconic role and an incredibly iconic show.
“I just hope I do it justice. I am following in some very, very big footsteps so I am just hoping that I fill them.”
In 2020, Gatwa was named best actor at the Scottish Baftas for his role in Sex Education.
Whittaker took over the Tardis in 2017 becoming the first female Doctor.
Speaking about how Doctor Who relates to diversity, Gatwa said of the Time Lord: “He is literally an alien – ‘they’ are an alien. And so they can regenerate into anything and anyone.
“I just find the show to be the most beautiful form of escapism. You can forget about all your worldly troubles and you get to go to space and battle aliens.
“I feel like anyone can put themselves in those shoes. The Doctor is not from anywhere.”
Queer As Folk and It’s A Sin writer Russell T Davies is returning as the programme’s showrunner after departing in 2009.
Davies, who was responsible for Doctor Who’s revival in 2005, will be back to celebrate the show’s 60th anniversary in 2023 and series beyond, the BBC has said.
Gatwa said he would try to do Davies’ writing justice.
Dundee Rep has congratulated the actor on his incredible success, saying on Facebook: “We’re so proud of Ncuti Gatwa, former Rep graduate actor, who has just been named as the new Doctor.
“Congrats and all the best Ncuti, we’re absolutely thrilled for you!”
Speaking on the red carpet at the TV Baftas, Davies said he had cast Gatwa as the Doctor because he could see him developing the role in new ways for many years.
He said: “When you see him you don’t know what you are going to get.
“And I fell in love, frankly. He is stunning.
“He did an audition and when you meet him...I think when you cast the Doctor you cast for potential.
“I can see him for years exploring the part and taking it somewhere new. That’s what I felt.”