Doctor Who has announced a radical development for the first time in the show’s 60-year history – and now the stars of the cast have spoken out about it.
For the first time in the history of Doctor Who, two non-white leads will be portrayed together as they strive to conquer nefarious forces across time and space in the beloved science-fiction show. Ncuti Gatwa will be joined as the Doctor by Varada Sethu, who plays his companion Belinda Chandra.
Gatwa has framed the decision as “progress”, suggesting that it reflects the multicultural society Brits live in. His words come after a backlash over the choice of characters by some fans. He clarified to the Radio Times at the launch event to celebrate the latest season, The Robot Revolution, that it was “exciting to look forward to a day when [having non-white leads] isn’t something huge”. Sethu chimed in: “[When] it’s not something that we have to talk about… every single thing that we do that gets us a step closer to that day I think is amazing.”
Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu return for a new series of Doctor Who on April 12 (Image: Getty)
Meanwhile, Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies stated that he had not created an “inclusive” cast list intentionally, but instinctively.
“That’s just life. It’s like opening your front door and there is the world. There’s nothing special or unique about that, although there is something important about that, to open that door and show the world,” he explained.
Davies added that he felt it was a “wonderful” thing to be able to help others to “feel visible [and] seen”.
However, Doctor Who’s popularity in recent years has declined, and the show has faced a backlash over its increasingly “woke” plots, which have had fans taking to social media with reactions ranging from bemusement to rage.
However, Sethu is nonplussed, challenging that “Doctor Woke” accusations are merely a sign that producers are “doing it right”.
In one “woke” story, trigger warnings were issued over a storyline that featured “discriminatory aliens”, which had some rolling their eyes.
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) slapped its latest caution on a four-part animated remake of William Hartnell’s 1966 story The Savages.
Among other comments, it warned: “References are made to discrimination and to the exploitation of people by more technologically advanced civilisations.”
