Doctor Who fans—excuse us, Whovians—know to expect the unexpected when it comes to the adventures of their beloved Time Lord.
The long-running BBC series regularly fiddles with its own formula, and will be doing so in a big way in 2023 when it introduces Sex Education‘s Ncuti Gatwa as its new Doctor.As per usual, not much is known about this upcoming “regeneration,” except that Russell T Davies (Queer As Folk, It’s A Sin) will be returning as the showrunner for the first time in over a decade, with Heartstopper breakout Yasmin Finney as the Doctor’s companion, and Neil Patrick Harris in a mysterious villain role.But it’s the latter who has given us perhaps our most intriguing hint at what’s to come: In addition to being played by a Black actor for the first time, this time around, the Doctor will be—spoilers!—gay.
A post shared by Ncuti Gatwa (@ncutigatwa)While guesting on the Just For Variety podcast in support of Uncoupled, Harris spilled some tea about Gatwa’s Doctor that had yet to be confirmed:“I got to meet and interact with him a bit and he’s glorious,” Harris said of Gatwa. “He’ll be the first gay Doctor, which is going to be super cool, a sexier Doctor.”Considering how nonchalantly he said it, we don’t think Harris realized he was dropping such a bombshell.
But up until this point, there was no official word that the new Doctor would be gay.Related: ‘Sex Education’: Still redefining what it means to be black and gay on TVOf course, there were rumors.