Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson Interview: A Doctor Who Dream Team

Doctor Who is back in full force this weekend with the start of Ncuti Gatwa’s time in the TARDIS as the fifteenth Doctor alongside companion Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson. They’ll be faced with space babies, musical maestros, and even The Beatles. Plus, the show is making a statement, doing away with the previous numbering system and declaring this a new Season 1.

We have a spoiler-free review of Doctor Who Season 1 if you want a peak at what’s in store, but, speaking to GLHF, leading man Ncuti Gatwa says that it took longer than that for him to truly feel ownership over the iconic Time Lord.

“I’d say maybe the second season,” he says. “Which isn’t the most appropriate answer, but it’s because in season one we were so full of nerves – good nerves, in the sense of acknowledging sixty years of weight – it was so exciting, and also such new terrain."

While Ncuti’s first season as the Doctor has yet to begin airing, filming for his second began back in October of last year, which also contributed to him not feeling like the role was truly his during the first season’s filming.

“I think as well, when we were filming season one [David Tennant] was still the Doctor,” Millie explains.

“Exactly,” Ncuti says, “so now it feels very much mine.”

Just one look at Ncuti and Millie, both in the show and when chatting to them, tells you all you need to know about their dynamic. They’re best mates and don’t care who knows it, but I wanted to know if it was like that from the moment they met.

After asking, Millie immediately turns to Ncuti and says, “I thought you were awful,” before bursting into laughter.

“Wow, you’re gonna say it like that?” Ncuti says, dramatically covering his mouth with his hand.

“No, I thought it was absolute magic as soon as I had a scene with Ncuti,” Millie says. “I say this a lot but there is a very specific moment that I always think back to.

“It was in the Christmas special. I remember the Doctor was dancing, and you had to do it so many times, but every time you did it with the same passion and power. I remember the first time I saw it, I was crying – and I wasn’t on camera so it was a wasted performance – but the whole crew felt it. That’s when it felt like this is our Doctor.”

And that feeling was mutual.

“For me, I knew that Millie was the companion as soon as she walked in the room,” Ncuti says. “It was just everything that I could’ve ever dreamed for in terms of the amount of charm, charisma, talent, humor, and heart.”

Millie interjects, “I think the northerness-” they both break down laughing.

“Yes! There’s a northern connection.” Ncuti says, “Especially in our-”

“Humour,” they conclude simultaneously.

Doctor Who already pushes strange sci-fi concepts to their limit – this is the show that invented the phrase ‘timey-wimey’ after all – but this season arguably pushes things further than ever.

“Space Babies was one where we were like ‘How…?’” Millie says.

“It was like ‘surely not,’” Ncuti laughs. “And then you walk onto set and there are twelve real babies and we’re like ‘Wow, it’s really happening!’”

“Singing,” he added.

“Singing,” Millie agreed.

“Sing a song to the Goblins…surely not, surely we’re going to do that in a studio. We walk in, ‘Here’s your mic!’ It’s every day.”

“And there was no choreography in that Goblin scene,” Millie says. “We were just dancing, we were just winging it.”

“We were dancing for our dinner!” Ncuti says. “Every day, every read-through-!”

Ncuti suddenly interrupts himself, turns to Millie, and says, “Why are we shouting?” causing another fit of laughter between the pair.

After taking a breath, he continues, “Every read-through, you go through the script and it’s great, you get carried away in it, everyone’s putting in their great performances, [Russell T Davies’] writing is amazing, but then you have moments where you’re like, ‘Right…How?...What? How will you make that work?’ but they always do.”

Much of the hype for the new season comes from Russell T Davies once again serving as the head writer and showrunner, making this his second time in charge following his initial exit from the show in 2010. In a whole new era of both Doctor Who and TV in general, both Ncuti and Millie have enjoyed their time working with Davies.

“It’s been amazing,” Ncuti says. “I mean, we’re getting to work with one of the greatest writers of our generation, which is a dream come true for any actor. But what surprised me about Russell was that there was very little… not input, that’s not the right word.”

“He let us do what we needed to do,” Millie clarifies. “He trusts his actors so much.”

“Yeah, but he’s very specific on his words,” Ncuti says, rolling his eyes. “Oh. My. Gosh. He is so specific on his words. But other than that, he just let us fly and let our energy take over.”

“Plus, as the season went on and more script came through, it was more how we talk,” Millie says. “That’s what a great writer he is, he just adapts to the energy and how me and Ncuti were growing with our own acting directions.”

If you want to know what Davies himself has to say about why that is, check out our interview with Russell T Davies . He has also spoken many times about his desire to push Doctor Who in a new direction this season, both in terms of the genre and general identity of the show and in the representation of LGBTQIA+ groups, something that will be no surprise to long-time fans of his work.

While it’s something Ncuti has done brilliantly in the past – receiving high praise for his breaking of stereotypes in Netflix’s Sex Education – it wasn’t a prominent goal of his coming into Doctor Who, although he’s happy to let Davies lead the way.

“For me I was just so gassed to have a great role,” he says. “We knew that Russell was trying to take the show in a new direction, in terms of how much supernatural stuff he’s putting in. So we knew he was putting his all into it and we just wanted to be a part of that.

“Russell is not a man that shies away from his opinions and his beliefs, nor his politics, so you know if you’re entering that space, then you’re going to be a part of that. And that’s a great place to be because he pushes boundaries and he asks society to look at itself with his writing. It’s an exciting place to be creatively.”

Doctor Who’s audience spans all ages thanks to the show’s longevity, but there has always been a big focus on the younger generations, and this new incarnation of Doctor Who makes great strides in speaking to them. Playing the Doctor puts any actor in the position of being a role model to this audience, and Ncuti and Millie have a firm grasp of what they want kids and young adults to take away from this season.

“Friendship,” Millie says, to an affirmative hum from Ncuti.

“Motherhood,” she adds, “That’s a really big theme.”

“Ruby and The Doctor are both characters that are very in touch with their emotions,” Ncuti says, “and aren’t afraid of their vulnerabilities, which is where Millennials and Gen Z are.”

“Such a good combo,” Millie says, the two of them lean into each other and say “Millennials and Gen Zers!” together. Ncuti is 31 while Millie is 19 so that connection is important to them.

“We’re all about talking about how we feel,” Ncuti continues. “We’re aaaalll about it!”

“But also making an irony of it,” Millie adds.

“Yeah, and using it as your fuel and your power.”

“And you can laugh about it.”

“Exactly,” Ncuti says, “so it definitely speaks to a younger audience just by virtue of itself. Plus all the values that the show has always had anyway: the family values, fighting for an underdog, and respecting all life forms. I hope those messages are carried on through our era as they have been others.”

Safe to say that Doctor Who is in good hands, and it will continue to be a show full of hope, optimism, and over-the-top adventures for years to come.

The first two episodes of Doctor Who Season 1, Space Babies and The Devil’s Chord, release on BBC iPlayer in the UK and Disney+ in the rest of the world at 7pm ET on Friday, May 10, 2024/midnight BST on Saturday, May 11, 2024. Both episodes will also be airing back-to-back on BBC One in the UK on Saturday evening.