Sex Education Star Ncuti Gatwa Has Been Cast As Doctor Who’s Fourteenth Doctor
The BBC has revealed that Ncuti Gatwa will be Doctor Who's Fourteenth Doctor to helm the TARDIS. Gatwa will be taking over the role in 2023, replacing English actress Jodie Whittaker as the current Doctor.
"This role and show means so much to so many around the world, including myself, and each one of my incredibly talented predecessors has handled that unique responsibility and privilege with the utmost care," Gatwa said in a statement to the BBC. "I will endeavor my upmost to do the same."
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The Scottish actor is prominently recognized for playing the role of Eric Effiong in Netflix's comedy series Sex Education, the best friend of Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield). Gatwa is also set to star alongside Margot Robbie in the upcoming Barbie movie.
As the Fourteenth Doctor, Gatwa will be the first Black man to play the role that has been passed around to different actors since Doctor Who's debut back in 1963. Whittaker made history as the first woman to appear as the Doctor when the BBC cast her for the role in 2017.
True to the series' tradition, Whittaker will appear in one last episode that will introduce Gatwa as the Fourteenth Doctor. The episode is expected to premiere at the end of this year to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the BBC.
As a humanoid Time Lord who can easily zip through space and time using the TARDIS, the Doctor takes on a different form in near-death situations in a process called regeneration. This has served as an excellent plot device to pass the torch between lead actors and was originally introduced to smooth out the transition between actors after the very First Doctor, William Hartnell, left the show in 1966.