{"id":15015,"date":"2022-05-09T13:42:24","date_gmt":"2022-05-09T11:42:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1640844"},"modified":"2022-05-09T14:07:11","modified_gmt":"2022-05-09T12:07:11","slug":"russell-t-davies-confirms-he-planted-doctor-who-red-herrings","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/russell-t-davies-confirms-he-planted-doctor-who-red-herrings\/","title":{"rendered":"Russell T Davies confirms he planted Doctor Who red herrings"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Lauren Morris\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 09 May 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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While some Doctor Who<\/a> fans thought they were certain of who the next Doctor would be, almost nobody predicted it would be Sex Education<\/a>\u2018s Ncuti Gatwa \u2013 much to the delight of Russell T Davies.<\/p>\n

The showrunner of Doctor Who\u2019s upcoming 2023 season has revealed that he planted \u201ca couple of misleading things\u201d about the next Doctor\u2019s identity to throw fans off the scent.<\/p>\n

Speaking to RadioTimes.com<\/a> and other press on the BAFTA Television Awards<\/a> red carpet, Davies said that he\u2019d kept Gatwa\u2019s casting news<\/a> \u2013 which was announced on Sunday \u2013 under wraps for three months.<\/p>\n

\u201cNone of you even guessed,\u201d the writer said. \u201cHe\u2019s so brilliant and so popular, he wasn\u2019t even guessed, so I\u2019m feeling a little bit victorious here.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cThere\u2019s been a few false stories and false tales and we placed a few posts ourselves, a couple of misleading things, and we\u2019re very pleased that that kind of worked.\u201d<\/p>

However, Davies clarified that the rumour James Corden might be taking on the role wasn\u2019t one of his red herrings, adding: \u201cWe didn\u2019t plant that one, so that caught me frankly.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Davies did not expand on which names he\u2019d planted in the press, a number of actors associated with the award-winning screenwriter were rumoured to be Jodie Whittaker\u2019s replacement<\/a>, including Years & Years star T\u2019Nia Miller, It\u2019s A Sin\u2019s Olly Alexander as well as the Fugitive Doctor herself Jo Martin.<\/p>\n

The BBC announced that Gatwa would become Jodie Whittaker\u2019s Doctor Who successor shortly before the TV BAFTA Awards on Sunday, with the Sex Education star saying: \u201cThere aren\u2019t quite the words to describe how I\u2019m feeling. A mix of deeply honoured, beyond excited and of course a little bit scared.<\/p>\n

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Ncuti Gatwa at the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards in Los Angeles, California.<\/span><\/figcaption> Photo by Axelle\/Bauer-Griffin\/FilmMagic<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cThis 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. I will endeavour my upmost to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

The three-time BAFTA nominee is best known for starring as Eric Effiong in Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education, but is also set to star in war drama Masters of the Air and Greta Gerwig\u2019s upcoming Barbie film.<\/p>\n