{"id":15825,"date":"2022-05-21T10:00:03","date_gmt":"2022-05-21T08:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1649025"},"modified":"2022-05-21T10:43:09","modified_gmt":"2022-05-21T08:43:09","slug":"will-ncuti-gatwas-doctor-who-debut-be-later-than-expected","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/will-ncuti-gatwas-doctor-who-debut-be-later-than-expected\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Ncuti Gatwa\u2019s Doctor Who debut be later than expected?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Huw Fullerton\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Saturday, 21 May 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Like a remarkably overstaffed GP\u2019s surgery, we\u2019ve currently got more Doctors than we can handle. Just a week after Sex Education\u2019s Ncuti Gatwa was unveiled as the new star of BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who<\/a>, it was announced that former series lead David Tennant (and companion Catherine Tate) would be back for the 60th anniversary celebrations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

All that, plus Jodie Whittaker still has one final episode to air this autumn. Truly, it\u2019s a smorgasbord of Time Lords \u2013 and it has us wondering whether \u201cnew Doctor\u201d Ncuti Gatwa might be a little delayed in his arrival on BBC One.<\/p>\n

After all, while many people assumed that Gatwa would take over from Whittaker this autumn ahead of a series or specials in 2023, the BBC never actually said this. As we\u2019ve noted before, they merely named Gatwa \u201cthe new Doctor\u201d<\/a> \u2013 not the next or the Fourteenth \u2013 and they never specified when he\u2019d turn up on-screen.<\/p>

However, they have nailed down those details for Tennant and Tate. Within the announcement, it was specifically noted that the pair were filming scenes for the 60th anniversary celebrations, airing in 2023. Similarly, when new series actor Yasmin Finney was unveiled<\/a>, the 60th anniversary was specifically cited.<\/p>\n

When Gatwa\u2019s casting was announced, it was teased with two hearts and a blue box emoji. Tennant, Tate and Finney\u2019s involvement was teased by hearts and a blue diamond, which Davies later confirmed was a nod to Doctor Who\u2019s 60th or diamond anniversary. If the BBC are willing to divulge that detail for those three actors, why not Gatwa? Unless it\u2019s because he\u2019s not<\/em> a part of that diamond anniversary, because David Tennant is taking over the role first.<\/p>\n

After all, it\u2019s not the first time we\u2019ve heard that David Tennant might be the actor who takes over from Whittaker. Rumours have swirled for months (if not longer) that Tennant\u2019s return was more complex than it first appeared, with some suggesting that the Scottish actor was coming to play a new incarnation rather than a time-displaced Tenth Doctor (or a version from a parallel universe, as Davies mischievously suggested).<\/p>\n

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Ncuti Gatwa and David Tennant<\/span><\/figcaption> Samir Hussein\/WireImage via Getty, Mike Marsland\/WireImage via Getty<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

It seemed a little fantastical at the time to suggest that Jodie Whittaker\u2019s Doctor would regenerate into a new, Tennant-shaped Fourteenth Doctor\u2026 but then Doctor Who started filming.<\/p>\n

While imagery of Tennant and Tate shooting has been limited, what has leaked out seems to suggest a similar but unfamiliar costume for Tennant\u2019s Doctor, with a new coat, suit and sonic screwdriver not seen in the series before. More intriguing still? He seems to be operating out of the TARDIS exterior used by Jodie Whittaker\u2019s Doctor, rather than the version he used from 2005-2010.<\/p>\n

Of course, we could be reading too much into this. Maybe the Tenth Doctor just wore a different outfit once or twice, and maybe he borrowed the TARDIS of another incarnation. Maybe it\u2019s not even Whittaker\u2019s TARDIS and we\u2019re getting blue-box-blindness.<\/p>\n

But generally speaking, it does all seem to suggest that those early rumours \u2013 which did correctly predict Tennant\u2019s return, lest we forget \u2013 might have a grain of truth in them after all. Maybe, somehow, this autumn\u2019s centenary special sees Jodie Whittaker\u2019s Doctor regenerate into an old body (specifically, that of the Tenth Doctor), to create a new\/old incarnation for a handful of specials.<\/p>\n

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Image Shows David Tennant and Catherine Tate, credit Alistair Heap\/BBC STUDIOS<\/span><\/figcaption> Alistair Heap\/BBC STUDIOS<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Then, perhaps Gatwa is lined up to become the \u201cproper\u201d new Doctor \u2013 the Fifteenth, we suppose \u2013 once Tennant\u2019s mini-series of adventures is over and the natural order is restored. In which case, it could be two years before fans see him properly take over the series.<\/p>\n

This is all hypothetical. It could be that Gatwa will be a part of the same specials as Tennant, and that Jodie Whittaker will genuinely regenerate into the Scottish-Rwandan actor this autumn. Who knows? Maybe in a couple of days we\u2019ll see Gatwa kick off filming in Jodie Whittaker\u2019s outfit and all this theorising will have been for nothing (well, for even less than it\u2019s worth now, which is a pretty low bar anyway).<\/p>\n

But if that is the case, you have to wonder \u2013 why wouldn\u2019t the BBC just say that\u2019s what\u2019s happening? Why fudge and deflect, unless they\u2019re trying to draw attention away from a big twist that plenty of fans are already starting to piece together?<\/p>\n

Altogether, we\u2019d say it seems likely that it\u2019ll be a while before Gatwa\u2019s fans see him take control of the TARDIS. Unless of course, it\u2019s something to do with the multiverse and all the stuff we\u2019ve just talked about has no meaning whatsoever. Multiverses solve everything.<\/p>\n

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