Ncuti Gatwa was recently announced as the 14th Doctor in beloved BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who and fans are thrilled.
Speaking to LADbible on the BAFTA red carpet, the Sex Education star explained how he felt about taking on the iconic role. Watch below:
Quite rightly, Gatwa was excited about the role, saying that he was 'very over the moon'.
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He continued: "It’s really exciting – I'm so happy to finally talk about it! Because it’s been a long time that I’ve known, and so yeah I’m happy that it’s out.
"I’m so grateful to be sharing the tenureship with Russell as well, he’s just the most incredible writer. I really fell in love with his writing in terms of watching the show. I just think he’s incredible, and so I feel very honoured to be part of it."
LADbible then asked how Gatwa landed the role, with the star replying: "They contacted my team to ask me to audition, but it was really weird because the week before I’d randomly just said to my agent like, ‘A dream role would be Doctor Who’, and then the next week she called me and she was like, ‘You’re never going to guess who’s just asked you to audition'.
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"So dream big and manifest. Manifestation is the flipping key!"
And speaking of that incredible audition, Davies explained how Gatwa got an 'instant yes' from him and everyone else he met.
Speaking of the process, Davies said: "It was an audition. He walked in to audition and it was the last person to audition – I thought we had someone else and then he came and it was like, ‘Wow. That’s it.’
"And then I have to take that to all my bosses, and then at every stage, I’m thinking, ‘Please like him, please like him.’ And every single person loved him.
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"It was the easiest casting process in the world. Instant yeses. I was so pleased."
And the showrunner expects fans to love Gatwa too: "I honestly think people are going to love him. What I see in him is unlimited potential. I think he could do anything, take him anywhere.
"That’s what the Doctor needs – you need to think, ‘We can go anywhere together’, and that’s it, and he’ll take the audience with him."
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As if we didn't already love the actor from his role as Eric in Sex Education.
While Davies was clearly enthusiastic about Gatwa, he was less clear on when we could expect to see him on our screens: "Well, we’re not allowed to say – I'll tell you why, because Jodie Whittaker’s still the Doctor, and she’s got a great big epic finale in October this year.
"So we’re just gentlemen, aren’t we? We’re just stepping back – it's literally her stage, and we will leave her to it."
While the timeline isn't set yet - it is Doctor Who after all - Davies will be returning as showrunner and will be working alongside Gatwa just in time for the hit series' 60th anniversary in 2023.
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Davies was at the helm of Doctor Who's 2005 revival and left the show in 2009.
Now he's set to make a comeback and we can't wait to see what adventures he has in store for Gatwa.
Topics: Doctor Who, Sex Education, News, UK News, Celebrity, TV and Film