The actor revealed more about his take on the Time Lord on today’s Zoe Ball Breakfast Show.
As we near ever closer to Christmas, we also inch even further towards the new dawn of Ncuti Gatwa as Doctor Who.
The anticipated Christmas episode will be airing on the big day itself, bringing with it goblins, a new companion and just a snippet of what’s to come in the upcoming season.
Revealing more about what’s in store for his Doctor, Gatwa spoke to Zoe Ball this morning (Wednesday 13th December) on her BBC Radio 2 breakfast show about the role.
The actor revealed that he’s feeling “very happy” with the reaction to the final 60th anniversary episode so far, but that “it’s a lot to wrap my head around”.
When asked about landing the part of the Doctor, Gatwa said: “It just was a magical adventure […] it feels very mad to be here.”
Ball asked Gatwa about what he tried doing differently in the role, with the star revealing: “I guess I didn’t try to do anything specific. I was like, I can only really bring myself, because the Doctor is just everything and each person that’s played the Doctor has been everything and has been amazing.
“I guess they’ve just been themselves, and that’s what I have just tried to do. He’s a bit mischievous, though. I guess he’s a bit flirty, he’s a bit cheeky, a bit mischievous.”
The Christmas episode will be the first episode with Gatwa’s Doctor fully at the helm, after the surprise bi-generation with David Tennant‘s Fourteenth Doctor.
The special, entitled The Church on Ruby Road, will see the Doctor meet his new companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) for the first time, and the pair are seemingly confronted by an army of angry goblins.
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Speaking previously about what’s to come in the anticipated Christmas outing, returning showrunner Russell T Davies said (via SFX magazine): “It’s completely a reinvention. Reinvention of the show, brand new, but not a reboot – it’s the same old show – everything starts again, everything’s seen through the eyes of Ruby Sunday, and it’s that lovely feeling of here we go, a new era beginning.”
He also mentioned that the episode “kind of goes into territory we’ve never touched before”, adding: “In many ways that’s more… fresher than special two. We’ve never done this before.”
Doctor Who will return for The Church on Ruby Road on BBC One at 5:55pm on Christmas Day. Previous episodes are available on BBC iPlayer and on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here.
Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guideto find out what’s on.
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