Ncuti Gatwa's First 'Doctor-Lite' Episode of Doctor Who Happened Because of Sex Education

The “Doctor-lite” has go a communal parlance successful modern Doctor Who—an occurrence that, calved retired of scheduling oregon the wide rigors of a play of tv amusement wherever the pb histrion is successful almost each of it, each the time, wherever the Doctor is mostly absent for an episode. But Ncuti Gatwa’s archetypal play arsenic the Doctor astir didn’t person one... until his other TV amusement made it necessary.

At the clip Gatwa was officially formed arsenic the caller Doctor, the histrion was inactive wrapping enactment connected the last play of Netflix’s Sex Education, wherever helium played breakout queer quality Eric Effiong. “Casting Ncuti meant casting him earlier he’d finished on Sex Education. That was a hazard that we took, but it was perfectly the close risk,” showrunner Russell T Davies said successful a file for the latest contented of Doctor Who Magazine (via the Radio Times), “because it meant we got the champion imaginable Doctor successful 2024 that we could privation for.”

But successful taking that risk, Davies recovered himself needing to enactment astir Gatwa’s availability—which pb him to instrumentality to an thought that helium couldn’t get to click with a Doctor/Companion team, but 1 that would enactment acold stronger if the Doctor was absent for astir of the episode, yet becoming the fourth occurrence of the season, “73 Yards.” 

“I emotion a Doctor-lite episode. But, let’s look it, if Ncuti had been available, we would ne'er person done a Doctor-lite occurrence successful play one,” Davies continued. “And the marvelous happening was, I’d had this thought kicking astir for ages, of the Doctor and his companion stepping extracurricular the TARDIS and seeing idiosyncratic successful the distance. But I could ne'er marque it enactment with 2 people. So erstwhile it became Doctor-lite—when it was conscionable Ruby, and we were capable to travel her full life—it benignant of freed itself.”

In a way, it provided an absorbing tally of episodes for Gatwa and the likewise freshly incoming Millie Gibson successful the mediate of their debut season. “Boom” was an occurrence that mostly leaned connected putting Gatwa successful the spotlight—via a excavation the Doctor accidentally stepped connected and couldn’t measurement off—that was past followed by Gibson’s starring crook successful “73 Yards,” and past aft that “Dot and Bubble,” wherever the duo lone appeared in-person during the episode’s climactic scene, different relegated to on-screen performances passim the remainder of the episode.

Given that “73 Yards” and “Boom” were arguably the standout episodes of Gatwa and Gibson’s archetypal play connected the show, it was decidedly a hazard worthy taking.

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