Ncuti Gatwa is about to put a whole new spin on Doctor Who in his first season as the titular Time Lord, but he's been more than happy to receive guidance from Doctors past before stepping into the TARDIS full-time.
In a new interview, Gatwa told Variety that David Tennant, who played the Doctor between 2005 and 2010 and again in 2023, has been a "guiding therapist father figure," advising him about "the things to read, and the things not to read."
The pair appeared on screen together briefly in the Doctor Who 60th anniversary episode The Giggle, when Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor "bigenerated" into Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor – so, instead of Fifteen replacing Fourteen, like in a normal regeneration, both versions of the Doctor still exist.
"To play this role beside him, who played this role which made me want to do this role, and him also being there – it was so many layers of full circle," Gatwa added, referring to their shared scene in The Giggle. "And on top of it, you’re wearing no pants! There was so much going on that day."
Gatwa's Doctor then took center stage in last year's Christmas special, The Church on Ruby Road, which also introduced his new companion: Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson.
Doctor Who returns to our screens on May 10 on Disney Plus internationally and May 11 on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK. In the meantime, check out our guide to the rest of the best new TV shows on the way in 2024 and beyond.
