You hear the Fifteenth Doctor long before you see him.
(When asked to choose a playlist, he picksBeyoncesRenaissancealbum, starting with what else?
Its a laugh that GatwasDoctor Whocolleagues know well by now.
Ncuti Gatwa.Christina Ebenezer
I could just hear his laugh, and I was like, There he is!
All my nerves melted away.
To be fair, Gatwa has a lot to laugh about.
Ncuti Gatwa.Christina Ebenezer
The move comes with a bigger budget, a bigger platform, and bigger scrutiny.
Even now, he can feel his muscles tightening as the new seasons air date approaches.
I was really cautious about getting it right throughout filming, the Rwandan-Scottish actor explains.
Ncuti Gatwa.Christina Ebenezer
It lives in peoples hearts, so I really wanted to protect that.
Christina Ebenezer
Fortunately for Gatwa, fans and colleagues alike seem to have already fallen for his Doctor.
Davies remembers watching Gatwas bigeneration scene in The Giggle, whereDavid Tennants Doctor passes the torch.
Ncuti Gatwa on ‘Doctor Who’.James Pardon/Bad Wolf/BBC Studios
Thats an inferno to throw Ncuti into, the writer explains.
Talk about being thrown into the deep end.
But [I could] see him owning it and triumphing.
Ncuti Gatwa.Christina Ebenezer
We knew that this show was in safe hands.
Reinvention has always been part ofWhos DNA.
They sprung the trap on me, Davies says with a laugh.
Ncuti Gatwa.Christina Ebenezer
They said, We want to makeDoctor Whobigger.
We want to take it to a streamer.
We want to go worldwide.
Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson on ‘Doctor Who’.Natalie Seery/Bad Wolf/BBC Studios
We want it to have a bigger budget.
And we want it to be up there withStranger ThingsandStar Trekand the Marvel shows.
Finally, we can afford for different members of an alien race to have different faces!
Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson on ‘Doctor Who’.James Pardon/Bad Wolf/BBC Studios
he says with glee.
The show had its writer; now, it needed its Doctor.
I just fell in love with it, Gatwa explains.
Ncuti Gatwa.Christina Ebenezer
But even after all that prep, Gatwa still approached his audition with tempered expectations.
Its like a British institution.
And I just didnt…
Ncuti Gatwa.Christina Ebenezer
Instead, he decided to treat the audition as a useful acting exercise.
Best case scenario, he reasoned, it would be a good excuse to internet with Davies.
I took my shoes off and did it a bunch of different ways.
Ncuti Gatwa.Christina Ebenezer
We spent the next week hoping and praying that he hadnt been offered another job, Davies says.
Gatwa got the call from his agent just as he was about to walk into his local barber shop.
The concept that was proposed to me was so meta that I was like, What?
Millie Gibson and Ncuti Gatwa on ‘Doctor Who’.Bad Wolf/BBC Studios
I cant even think about this.
I need to do my laundry!
Gatwa says with a grin.
Ncuti Gatwa.Christina Ebenezer
Yes, Im ready to accept!
But it took me about a week to wrap my head around how huge that concept was.
Suddenly, he says, he found himself inducted into an unofficial Whovian family.
Theyve all been absolute angels, he proclaims of his predecessors.
That solidarity from the other Doctors has been really nice.
But the BBC and Disney+ are rebranding it as season 1 or series 1, if youre British.
(As the Doctor himself would say, its all very wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey.)
Gatwa says he found that creative freedom liberating and a little intimidating.
I had a lot of set expectations as to what the Doctor should be like, he admits.
I thought, Theres definitely a correct way of doing the Doctor, which is a very British mentality.
But they were like, Well, its just whatever youre doing.
It took a long time for that to settle in: They just wanted me to be myself creatively.
Itll be a nice little memory for my first audition afterCorrie, and Ill never hear of it again.
And that was the start of a long journey, and its been a whirlwind ever since.
The teachers would never allow us to sit together.
Were curious and wed be looking for an adventure somewhere in the room.
And I was like: That is the vibe I want for the Doctor.
Me and Ncuti have a similar relationship to the Doctor and Ruby, which really helps.
Its just constant laughter and platonic best friends.
Their similar histories loom large throughout the season, as both find themself curious about their origins.
That storys going to be the spine of the whole show, Davies teases.
Were heading into season 2, and my God, Ruby Sunday is important to that, Davies says.
Theres good stuff to come.
Its self-regenerating, basically, the writer explains.
It has so much scope, and that will never get old.
Jemma Redgrave is also back as UNIT head Kate Stewart, while Langford returns as Mel.
Langford first joined the show in 1986, traveling with Colin Bakers Sixth Doctor and Sylvester McCoys Seventh.
Langford, 59, tells EW.
I felt I couldnt find my place at all.
She adds with a laugh, I didnt touch a single button on the TARDIS!
I did nothing that was technical at all.
I didnt even answer a phone.
As for Mels exploits this season?
Langford is tight-lipped, but she does tease that she gets to drive a scooter.
Now, Mel does the driving.
Also getting an upgrade?
I went in and showed the producers, and they were like, This is lovely.
What else have you got?
And I was like, Oh.
And I was like, Yes, lets doall of them.
The result, Gatwa hopes, is a sartorial spread that nods to the Doctors varied roots.
This character represents the U.K. in a weird way, almost like Captain Britain.
So, how do we tell that story through fashion?
While enjoying an expanded budget and an expanded closet the team also committed to maintaining everything that makesWhofeel likeWho.
I thought that right now in 2024, we need a hero with more heart, Davies explains.
Its a marvelously pacifist show.
Ive heard chats about me not ever facing a Dalek, he says indignantly.
Id be so angry if thats the case!
By the time that Im done withDoctor Who, I better have faced a Dalek.
Also on Gatwas wish list?
I need a big dance number!
Or maybe some death drops, and thats what will drop the monster.
Hopefully, there will be plenty of time for Daleks and dancing.
Gatwa is confirmed to star in at least two seasons ofWho, with his second season shooting now.
(Andoractress Varada Sethu is also joining as a new companion in season 2.)
We all might be gaseous holograms by then, but itll still be going.
In typical Doctor fashion, he has no idea what his future might hold.
But for now, hes going to take the TARDIS his TARDIS and fly as far as he can.
My heart started racing because I just thought, Thats the blue box.
