Back in May, the Doctor Who fandom was left stunned with the most recent season finale when Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor regenerated and Billie Piper was revealed as the 16th Doctor. Following the actor’s surprising exit, CinemaBlend spoke briefly with him about leaving the role during the press junket for his new movie.
Ncuti Gatwa’s latest release is a comedy called The Roses, which has him starring alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Andy Samberg, Kate McKinnon, Allison Janney and many more very funny actors. During the interview, I brought up to Gatwa that following his exit, I had seen so many people calling him their favorite (or one of their faves) Doctor so far. Here’s how he responded:
Doctor Who was the most magical time. The most magical time, and I'll love that show forever. I don't know, I still get very touched by Whovian love. [It’s] just the most amazing family to have stepped into.
Gatwa was emotional and full of gratitude when I brought up Doctor Who following his exit during our interview – which happened fresh off the finale back in June. The actor previously shared that he left the series due to the “strenuous” nature of the show “physically, emotionally, mentally”, but did say “never say never” when asked if he could come back at some point. The actor also said this to the fandom:
I love you Whovians. So, so, so, so, so… much.
It’s clear the actor has a lot of joy towards the fans that embraced his version of Doctor Who, which was announced in 2022 and went on for two seasons. Prior to the finale revealing the change-up in the series, we had some clues that Gatwa might be moving on after he signed on to be in a play for example, among other gigs.
Billie Piper has a long history with Doctor Who, considering she’s been part of Series 1, 2, 4 in the early 2000s before also appearing in the 2010 special which was David Tennant’s final regular appearance as the Tenth Doctor. Piper has said her appearance in the finale was “very last minute”, and we’ve heard that it will be sometime before we meet her version of the Doctor.
In The Roses, Ncuti Gatwa plays one of the waiters to Olivia Colman’s Ivy Rose, who is an up-and-coming restaurateur who suddenly becomes the talk of the town while her husband, Benedict Cumberbatch’s Theo Rose suddenly finds himself dealing with the downfall of his architect career. As the husband and wife become bitter toward each other, Gatwa’s character serves up some hilarious humor alongside Sunita Mani’s waitress character often quipping with him.
You can see Ncuti Gatwa in The Roses, in theaters on August 29!
