Gatwa says it “would be essential to explore race” during his time on the show. <\/p>
The long wait for Ncuti Gatwa\u2019s first full season in the TARDIS is now over \u2013 with the opening two episodes of Doctor Who season 14<\/a> having aired on BBC One last night following their iPlayer debut.<\/p>\n Space Babies<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0The Devil\u2019s Chord<\/a> saw the Doctor and new companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) travel a to baby farm in the distant future and 1960s London respectively, with the pair meeting talking babies, a monster made of bogies, The Beatles and Jinkx Monsoon\u2019s bonkers new villain<\/a> Maestro<\/a> in the process.<\/p>\n Of course, these episodes offer just a taste of what\u2019s to come in season 14 \u2013 and in Gatwa\u2019s stint on the show more generally \u2013 and it looks like the series will also be taking time to explore some more serious issues alongside the silliness.<\/p>\n Gatwa is the first permanent Black Doctor in the show\u2019s history \u2013 following Jo Martin\u2019s brief appearance as the Fugitive Doctor during the Chris Chibnall era \u2013 and during a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter<\/a>, the actor said that his race would definitely play a part in future episodes.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think that there will be no way to not, you have to address race,\u201d he said when asked about the topic.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cI think, like, the Doctor has been\u2026 this is the first time the Doctor has been this Black for this long, and he tends to spend most of his time on Earth, it\u2019s a favourite of his.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd so, yeah, it would be essential to explore race within his tenure. It\u2019s something that I would want to do and, like, I don\u2019t think you can ignore it. You can\u2019t ignore my chocolate-ness!\u201d<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n Of course, Doctor Who is a show that has always explored social issues through a sci-fi lens, and so it\u2019s no surprise that this will continue to be the case during Gatwa\u2019s tenure \u2013 and it gives fans yet another reason to look forward to future episodes.<\/p>\n Speaking of future episodes, an exciting teaser has arrived for next week\u2019s instalment, Boom<\/a>, which marks the high-profile return of former showrunner Steven Moffat to writing duties.<\/p>\n The episode will see the Doctor landing on a war-torn alien world where he steps on a landmine and is unable to move \u2013 and if the trailer is anything to go by, what follows looks rather tense to say the least\u2026<\/p>\n The episode will be followed by 73 Yards, Dot and Bubble, and the Regency era-set Rogue<\/a>, guest starring Jonathan Groff<\/a>, before the season is rounded off with two-part finale The Legend of Ruby Sunday and Empire of Death.<\/p>\n\n