Ncuti Gatwa opens up about his experience playing the Fifteenth Doctor, revealing his current thoughts about how long he expects to lead Doctor Who beyond his currently confirmed first two seasons. Gatwa took control of the TARDIS in the final act of the third 60th-anniversary special, “The Giggle”, parting ways with Fourteenth Doctor David Tennant for a new era of adventures. The Fifteenth Doctor’s first solo adventure will be 2023’s seasonal special “The Church on Ruby Road”, which will also introduce viewers to Millie Gibson’s new companion Ruby Sunday.
While audiences only just met Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor in the closing moments of Doctor Who‘s 60th-anniversary storyline, Gatwa has opened up to RadioTimes about how long he expects to lead the series before moving on to his own new adventures. The actor stated that while he currently had no insight into how long he expected to play the Doctor for, Gatwa did reveal that he had only grown fonder towards playing the Time Lord as production on season 14 and the currently filming season 15 continued. Check out Gatwa’s full response below:
No idea, no plan. I just know that I’m loving it and my love for it is growing.
How Long Do Doctor Actors Lead Doctor Who For?
There has never been a set term on how long an actor has portrayed the Doctor in Doctor Who‘s history. There are circumstances where actors were either asked to step aside for health reasons as seen with William Hartnell’s original departure, or due to more business-influenced circumstances as seen with Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and Paul McGann. However, there have also been several actors who already had a clearer idea of how long they wanted to travel in the time vortex and left on their own terms.
Fifth Doctor Peter Davidson has stated previously that he decided to stay in the role for three seasons under the advice of Second Doctor Patrick Troughton to avoid potential typecasting, with following Doctors Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi also similarly deciding to lead for similar tenures. Jodie Whittaker also led Doctor Who for three seasons, though she would later state that her departure was also influenced by an agreement she and then-showrunner Chris Chibnall set out upon joining the series. Due to these factors, it is hard to determine just how long a Doctor actor may remain in the role, as it can be both down to their own personal choice or uncontrollable factors.
Audiences have already been left eager to see more of Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor despite Doctor Who season 14 having yet to air. As such, many will be pleased to hear that the actor himself has only grown fonder of the role as he has continued to film Doctor Who’s 2024 seasonal special and 2025’s season 15. With this, perhaps Gatwa may stay in the role beyond the three-year trend of prior revival Doctors.
Doctor Who
Originally premiered in 1963, Doctor Who is a sci-fi series that follows a powerful being known as a Time Lord, referred to as the Doctor. Using an interdimensional time-traveling ship known as the TARDIS, the Doctor travels time and space with various companions as they solve multiple problems and help avert catastrophe as much as they almost cause it. Though the Doctor is always the same character, they experience regenerations, allowing them to be recast every few seasons as a unique immortal being with new personality traits.
- Release Date
- November 23, 1963
- Cast
- Jenna Coleman , Jodie Whittaker , Alex Kingston , David Tennant , Matt Smith , Peter Capaldi
- Genres
- Adventure , Mystery , Sci-Fi
- Seasons
- 26
- Season List
- Doctor Who – Season 1 , Doctor Who – Season 2 , Doctor Who – Season 3 , Doctor Who – Season 4 , Doctor Who – Season 5 , Doctor Who – Season 6 , Doctor Who – Season 7 , Doctor Who – Season 8 , Doctor Who – Season 9 , Doctor Who – Season 10 , Doctor Who – Season 11 , Doctor Who – Season 12 , Doctor Who – Season 13 , Doctor Who – Season 14 , Doctor Who – Season 15 , Doctor Who – Season 16 , Doctor Who – Season 17 , Doctor Who – Season 18 , Doctor Who – Season 19 , Doctor Who – Season 20 , Doctor Who – Season 21 , Doctor Who – Season 22 , Doctor Who – Season 23 , Doctor Who – Season 24 , Doctor Who – Season 25 , Doctor Who – Season 26
- Franchise
- Doctor Who
- Story By
- Sydney Newman C. E. Webber Donald Wilson
- Writers
- Mark Gatiss , Toby Whithouse , Neil Cross , Steven Moffat , Chris Chibnall
- Network
- BBC
