Is Ncuti Gatwa leaving? Our Doctor Who experts know who should take over

Metro

31-05-2025

As Doctor Who's Ncuti Gatwa second season comes to an end, sights are already being set on the 16th Doctor.
After two stand-out seasons shepherding Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) and Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) around the universe, the 15th Doctor has seen it all (except the Daleks, much to Ncuti's devastation).
He's faced down enemies from the distant past, pushed back against bigotry, discovered hell-dimension defying love and found himself in the middle of more than one musically-themed episode.
Although we hope there are more adventures to come, with rumours swirling of an imminent departure (and Doctor's traditionally not sticking around for more than three seasons) it's best to be prepared.
The future of Doctor Who could unfold in any direction.
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So, here are the picks from Metro's Doctor Who experts – Deputy TV Editor Tom Percival, Senior TV Reporter Rebecca Cook and TV Reporter Asyia Iftikhar – for the next Doctor from unexpected frontrunners to dream fancasts.
Now I know what you're thinking – did you just misread that name?
No, you read correctly – that is Billie Piper, aka the actor behind Rose Tyler who's currently stranded in a parallel universe with a discount David Tennant.
There's no one quite like Rose to keep your ego in check while effortlessly swooning you with her straight-forward charm and disarming loyalty – all packaged into someone whose edges were sharpened on a bustling London council estate with a mum who knows her own mind (and then some).
Despite the fact that she still plays a very much existing character in the Whoniverse (if her return to Big Finish is any indication) everyone is ignoring that tiny detail as speculation rises that she could be upgrading to the top dog themselves – the 16th Doctor.
Hey, if 12th Doctor Peter Capaldi is anything to go by (albeit on a much, much smaller scale) Doctor Who is in the business of not only recycling faces but actually acknowledging it in the plot!
Anyone who checked in to the latest stay at The White Lotus will know the award of season scene-stealer was a toss-up between Parker Posey's amorphous accent and the delightful Aimee Lou Wood.
After being a standout on Sex Education before that – much like Ncuti Gatwa – the only issue here might be that Aimee Lou Wood wouldn't want to be tied down to a long-running show – again, much like Ncuti Gatwa.
But if we're purely fan-casting here, what would be a better way to follow up the immense eye-acting powers of Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor than with Wood's own mesmerically shiny windows to the soul? And who else, like Gatwa, could get away with calling every alien, demi-god and mortal being they come into contact with 'babes' and 'hon'? It just might be that these are shoes only Wood can fill.
Senior TV Reporter Rebecca Cook
It might be hard to imagine Danny Dyer travelling through time and space, battling Daleks, and fighting the good fight. After all, Danny's made a career playing rough and ready characters who are more likely to throw hands than throw around a bit of technobabble. Yet, to paraphrase Matt Smith's iconic final lines, times change, and so must Doctor Who.
Danny could offer an entirely fresh take on the beloved Time Lord, one that's a bit grittier and edgier. I imagine him as a mash-up of the Ninth, Third, and Twelfth Doctors, a slightly grumpy, less refined figure who's as passionate and brave as ever but not afraid to bust out the Venusian aikido when a Cyberman needs slapping down.
In case you think I'm being facetious, I think Danny's proven, most recently in the brilliant Rivals, that he brings a surprising level of pathos to his characters that belies his carefully cultivated wide boy persona, and with the right script, I can see him bringing tremendous depth to the Doctor.
Plus, who wouldn't love to see Danny Dyer dressed like a Victorian dandy telling their assistant to get up the apples and pears before that Dalek can have a butchers at 'em.
Deputy TV Editor Tom Percival
It's difficult to find a more exciting emerging British talent than Ambika Mod, who in just a handful of roles has been able to make audiences curl up on their sofa and cry or laugh out loud at her impeccable comedic timing.
Her comedy background, coupled with her ability to infuse immense emotional depth into her characters – whether slowly destroying us as Emma Morley in Netflix's One Day or tearing our hearts out as junior Doctor Shruti in This Is Going To Hurt – has made her an unstoppable force.
By pure coincidence, it's also all the qualities we look for in the Doctor who needs to be able to bring a dark gravitas to one scene and levity the next – a tall order.
I can truly see her having a high-stakes showdown with a Weeping Angel one minute and accidentally taking the companion's cat along for the ride the next.
Not to mention, it would be delightful to see her take on a more fast-paced, action-style role, which I have no doubt she would thrive in.
Adolescence star Erin Doherty has proven her metamorphic ability in spades.
The 32-year-old actor inhabits a grounded presence on screen that she infuses with grit and, when appropriate, panache that completely draws you in – and leaves you wanting more.
Even knowing that she plays Princess Anne in The Crown I still struggle to fully accept it's her, so great is her talent to be completely consumed by the role that she's playing.
Doctor Who is nothing without the total surrender of the actors who embody this time-travelling Time Lord and I can think of no one more up to the task. More Trending
Whether creating some of the most devastating television you'll see this year in one shot or packing a punch in a period drama all about boxing – Erin Doherty has mastered it all.
Now she just needs a sonic screwdriver and a panchant for crashing the Tardis in the most dangerous imaginable place to fit the bill.
Justttt to cover our bases.
Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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