Doctor Whois about to introduce a new incarnation of the Doctor, meaning the character will undergo a radical personality change. According to Neil Patrick Harris, Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor Who will be gay, and his era will be a “sexier” one.
Doctor Whofirst aired in 1963, and societal attitudes have changed quite a bit. It was once a rule that the Doctor never kissed, nor would he express any romantic attraction toward other characters. Ever since the revival in 2005, the character has had quite a few love interests, such asthe Doctor’s wife River Song(Alex Kingston), Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman), and even the TARDIS herself.
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In a new interview forVariety’s Just for Variety podcast, Harris discussed the latest step forward forDoctor Who. Harris praised Gatwa’s performance, having recently returned from filming the new series. “I got to meet and interact with him a bit and he’s glorious,” Harris said of Gatwa. “He’ll be the first gay Doctor, which is going to be super cool, a sexier Doctor.
The show has previously portrayed several gay characters, but its main character has only flirted with the same sex at times. The 15th Doctor will apparently have LGBT issues that have been prominent in the series since its revival. Russell T. Davies is openly gay and was the first showrunner for the rebooted series.Davies is returning toDoctor Whoand bringing Harris, who is also openly gay, along with him. The two previously worked together onIt’s a Sin,a drama set during the AIDs crisis.
Gatwa has never publicly commented on his own sexuality, but his most notable performance was in Netflix’sSex Education,where Gatwa portrayed Eric, an openly gay, confident teen. As a gay man, Davies will surely understand the importance of this turn for the character, and it offers several storytelling possibilities for Doctor Who. The Doctor has had moments of flirtation with quite a few companions, so is it possible that a male companion could end up as more than that for this Doctor?
After all, it was Davies whogave the Tenth Doctor a perfect introduction, which included Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), a character who would go on to explicitly become the Doctor’s lover. Her story and character have become a fan favorite plotline, and many still cite her as one of the best companions. Could Davies hit gold twice?
