Fifteenth Doctor actor, Ncuti Gatwa, has claimed it was “always the plan” to only film two seasons of Doctor Who, owing to the physicality of the role.
He explained:
“It was always the plan to do this amount of seasons, because it’s a role that demands a lot of you, physically and emotionally and mentally.
“Actors playing the Doctor are only actors playing the Doctor; unfortunately, we are mere mortals. I would love to have the energy and the youth to be able to do this full time for the rest of my life, but my knees are telling me it’s time.”
Sorry, Ncuti, but I don’t believe you (though fair play to him for helping the production team save some face).
It’s in contrast to both current rumours about behind-the-scenes turbulence and what we know from previous announcements — namely, we were told to expect one season each year, and that the Fifteenth Doctor was staying for quite some time (certainly longer than two mere series!); plus, Gatwa himself said he expected to be filming the next season this year.
His reason does make sense: both Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi, the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors respectively, had issues with their knees, developing the exact same injury which required hospital treatment. Nonetheless, Ncuti is 32, so yes, bodies are fragile things, but there’s little reason he couldn’t have stayed on longer, given that he’s about to star in a play for the RSC, a play being generally more demanding than filming for TV.
There are also plenty of (very believable) rumours about the show not being recommissioned until Series 15/Season 2 aired and streamed; considering his two seasons were shot virtually together, that meant Gatwa had to turn down perhaps a year’s worth of work in case he were called in for Doctor Who — he’s a jobbing actor in high demand, so that’s too much to ask of him, no matter how important the franchise clearly is to him. Oh, and, of course, the regeneration in The Reality War was likely the main reason for reshoots, meaning the decision to leave was more last-minute than something that was apparently “always the plan”.
It’s a massive shame to see Ncuti go. He’ll be missed.
