Doctor Who’s Neil Patrick Harris teases Ncuti Gatwa will play the first gay Time Lord
The Uncoupled actor also said Gatwa's regenerating Time Lord will be "sexier" than we're used to.
Words: Emily Maskell; pictures: BBC/Instagram/@nph and Netflix
Neil Patrick Harris has teased what we can expect from the upcoming 60th anniversary series of Doctor Who, including the fact that Ncuti Gatwa will be playing the first gay Doctor of the show’s 59-year run.
Harris, 49, signed on to the new Doctor Who season after working with showrunner Russell T. Davies on It’s a Sin, and will be joining the Sex Education star as well as Heartstopper’s Yasmin Finney.
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“I got to meet and interact with him a bit and he’s glorious,” Harris said of Gatwa, in an interview with Variety. “He’ll be the first gay Doctor, which is going to be super cool, a sexier Doctor.”
A gay Time Lord is one for the books, bringing some queer style to the age-old Tardis.
The Gray Man‘s Ryan Gosling has recently described Gatwa’s casting in Doctor Who as “the most exciting thing that’s happening right now“. Gatwa and Gosling are co-stars in Greta Gerwig’s star-studded film Barbie.
House of the Dragon star Matt Smith, who played the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor, also weighed in on the choice of Gatwa, describing picking him for the iconic role as “the most sensational bit of casting,” in an interview with Variety.
While much of the new season of Doctor Who is being kept secret under lock and key, Harris’ appearance in the show sees him set to play “the greatest enemy” that the Doctor has ever faced, according to Davies.
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Finney, 18, has also offered some insight into her character, Rose, who will be trans.
The actress told Attitude at the Pride Awards on Thursday 28 July: “All I’m going to say is it’s a really heartfelt thing and the character I get to play is like Elle in the sense of she’s finding her feet. But she is younger than Elle. Rose is still finding her feet in terms of her identity,” after collecting an Attitude Pride Icon Award.
She added that the storyline we can expect is “fluid and beautiful.”
Harris can be seen in Netflix’s Uncoupled, a show about a 40-something that finds himself back in the New York dating scene after a 17-year relationship.
The Attitude July/August issue is out now.