Doctor Who Fans Are In For A Long Wait To See Ncuti Gatwa Take Over

Whovians have been absolutely buzzing since Ncuti Gatwa was announced as the new Doctor Who lead back in May. The feature-length special The Power of the Doctor sadly marked the end of Jodie Whittaker’s four-year run as the Thirteenth Doctor, but viewers were treated to one of the show’s biggest plot twists. Fans were expecting Gatwa to be revealed, but Thirteen regenerated into the familiar face of David Tennant, who had previously played the Tenth Doctor. And so, the question remains, when will Gatwa actually make his Time Lord debut?

Fans were misled to believe that the Sex Education actor will be taking on the role of the Fourteenth Doctor, but now that Ten is coming back as Fourteen, Gatwa will actually assume the role of Fifteen. But before that happens, a short trailer released by the BBC shows Tennant’s return to adventures in time and space, accompanied by Catherine Tate reprising Donna Noble and a sinister Neil Patrick Harris as the villain, decked out in a full suit, top hat, and eyeliner.

Satisfyingly, the trailer also revealed our first glimpse of Gatwa in the role, looking dishevelled and frustratedly exclaiming, “Someone tell me what the hell is going on here?” According to Radio Times, there will be three special episodes airing in November 2023 to mark Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary, starring Tennant and Tate. After these anniversary specials, Gatwa will then take over as the Fifteenth Doctor, with his first episode airing “over the festive period” in 2023.

Showrunner Russell T Davies further hyped up this unexpected turn of events in a statement: “If you thought the appearance of David Tennant was a shock, we’ve got plenty more surprises on the way! The path to Ncuti’s Fifteenth Doctor is laden with mystery, horror, robots, puppets, danger, and fun! And how is it connected to the return of the wonderful Donna Noble? How, what, why? We’re giving you a year to speculate, and then all hell lets loose!”

While there’s still a considerable wait to see Gatwa as the new Doctor, the Beeb gave fans a glimpse at his lewk, below, alongside Millie Gibson, who plays the Doctor’s new companion Ruby Sunday. Sharing a video to Twitter, the pair showed off their style with Gatwa revealing his official outfit as the Fifteenth Doctor in addition to an array of “Sonic rings” and “Gallifreyan nail tattoos.”