Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa has been cast as the 14th Doctor on Doctor Who, the BBC has announced, making him the first Black actor to portray the iconic role.
This marks an important step forward for the franchise. After all, the show’s protagonist – a time-travelling alien that is thousands of years old – has only been played by white people since the show’s inception in 1963. Current star Jodie Whittaker became the first woman to star as the lead just five years ago; all the other actors to portray the regenerating protagonist have been white men.
The 29-year-old Gatwa, best known for his role in Netflix’s Sex Education, is also among the youngest Doctors yet.
Gatwa was born in Rwanda and raised in Scotland. He began his professional acting career eight years ago after graduating from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, one of the world’s top-performing arts schools.
In his first interview since the announcement, Gatwa stated: “It feels amazing, this role is an institution and it’s so iconic and means so much to so many people, including myself. It makes everyone feel seen. I’m very grateful to have the baton handed over and I’m going to try and do my best.”
Moreover, Yasmin Finney, last seen in Netflix’s popular British coming-of-age teen drama, Heartstopper, will join the cast as Gatwa’s sidekick and, sigfnificantly, one of the few openly transgender actors to appear in the series.
The new era of Doctor Who is expected to begin in 2023. While it may be a little too soon to start setting reminders in our calendar, we can’t help but feel a little excited to witness such positive representation.
