Peter Capaldi celebrates “huge talent and heart” of new Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa
Since his announcement as the actor to play the lead role in Doctor Who after Jodie Whittaker, Ncuti Gatwa has received messages from support from celebrities and fans alike, including members of the Sex Education cast, former Doctor Who stars including Matt Smith and Sylvester McCoy as well as former showrunners of the show including Steven Moffat.
And now another member of the exclusive Doctors club has expressed his delight at Gatwa’s casting to the role, the Twelfth incarnation of the famous Timelord in the BBC series, Peter Capaldi.
The Scottish actor, who played the Doctor between 2013 and 2017, has spoken of the “huge talent and heart” of Gatwa and what a fantastic story it is that he has ended up with one of the most celebrated and iconic jobs in British television.
“What a great story,” he told Scottish broadcaster, STV. “A little boy whose family escaped from the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 and at age two, finds refuge in Scotland, where he grows up to become Doctor Who.
“That’s a story to be proud. With his huge talent and heart, I know Ncuti will make an amazing Doctor. How exciting.”
Gatwa will take over the role of the Doctor full time in 2023 as part of a new era of Doctor Who that will be led by Russell T Davies. The new showrunner, who will replace Chris Chibnall at the helm of the show, is returning to the programme after being the person for rebooting the show in 2005, and oversaw the eras of two Doctors, Christopher Eccelston’s Ninth and David Tennant’s Tenth before passing the show on to Steven Moffat in 2010.
The final episode of Jodie Whittaker’s era as the Doctor will air at sometime in the autumn and will coincide with the centenary celebrations of the BBC. We know that several former companions will be returning to the show and the Doctor will face off against several of her most famous foes. However, it is expected there may well be other details revealed closer to the feature length episode.
Doctor Who will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2023, and it is expected that Russell T Davies will be putting together an exciting special featuring the new Doctor to celebrate the occasion. At this stage little is known about what will happen next in Doctor Who once Jodie Whittaker leaves the TARDIS.
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