It was the Doctor Who 60th anniversary special that aired in December, where David Tennant, a beloved series star, playing the previous Doctor, split in two and foisted Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor onto the world with him. Gatwa stood there, mouth agape, wearing nothing more than a dress shirt and tighty-whities, and the media has been gobbling it up ever since, all the while blasting any Doctor Who fans who disapproved.
In a recent interview with Variety, the new Doctor, who the media repeatedly reminds viewers is the first openly queer Black actor to take on the role of the Doctor, tells those disappointed fans to bugger off: “Don’t watch. Turn off the TV. Go and touch grass, please, for God’s sake.”
“Do you know what? It makes perfect sense to me,” Gatwa, who was born in Rwanda and raised in Scotland, says of his casting. “I feel like anyone that has a problem with someone who’s not a straight white man playing this character, you’re not really, truly a fan of the show. You’ve not been watching! Because the show is about regeneration, and the Doctor is an alien — why would they only choose to be this sort of person?”
The identity politics makes sense, after series stalwart Russell T Davies returning as showrunner, writer and executive producer. After all, Davies is considered “a pioneer of LGBTQ television,” having created the original “Queer as Folk” in 1999 and 2021’s “It’s a Sin,” which follows a group of young queers during the HIV/AIDS scare of the 80s. Of course Davis was going to convert the Doctor to a queer icon.
“They weren’t exactly the straightest men in the past,” Davies says of the Doctor Who characters, adding that Gatwa’s Doctor will be even more different. “You’re talking about someone who does have a lightness and a joy about him that, to me, chimes with queer energy. It’s very rarely driving the story vehemently, but you will see moments exploring it. We’re not delivering a neutered Doctor.”
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There’s been plenty of criticism of these changes, since “Doctor Who” is a show that appeals to children. And having an openly queer actor playing the Doctor, on its new home on Disney+ will reach more kids than ever, a disturbing idea to protective parents who don’t like the way modern entertainment seems to be “grooming” children to be open to alternative lifestyles. Perhaps they should question their decision to subscribe to Disney+, but Davies says that he sees the show’s wider reach as an opportunity to open people’s minds.
“I think if you’re 6 years old, you don’t care — not at all,” he says. “But nonetheless, as the world darkens — and I do think the world is darkening around queer rights — there is a joy and a celebration, and there’s a community. Whether you’re 12 years old and just beginning to work out who you are, 62 years old and you’ve never been who you are, or 61 years old like I am and beginning to worry about where we are in society — there is a hero out there cutting his way through the universe, looking damn good in his suits and doing it with a laugh and a smile.”
And if Ncuiti Gatwa’s message to any naysayers is simply “Don’t watch. Turn off the TV,” then your terms are acceptable Mr. Gatwa.
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English (US) · 