'Doctor Who' on Disney+: Ncuti Gatwa, Varada Sethu on navigating opinions from vocal fans, critics

Yahoo

12-04-2025

Doctor Who fans, and critics, have been particularly vocal as the show returns for Season 2 on Disney+, but Ncuti Gatwa continues to be one of the most charismatic Doctors in the show's history. Now paired with a new companion, Belinda Chandra, played by Varada Sethu, Gatwa has navigated the Doctor Who opinions with like the consummate professional he is.
"The show is beloved for a reason, it's been inspiring people, entertaining people for years, and it's glorious. The fandom is incredible and keeps the show running," Gatwa told Yahoo Canada. "I saw how far and wide it reached, and I tried to concentrate on that."
"At the end of the day, I'm just an actor. I've just got a job to do and I have to just respond to the script, and what I'm being asked to do. And other opinions are lovely, but they are not paying my bills. I need to concentrate on the task at hand, which is the script. And so that's always my main focus. ... [But] I love being a part of the universe, [the] family. ... It will always be the case with something as iconic and as huge as Doctor Who that there's going to be 1,000,001 chefs in the kitchen. That's the nature of the beast."
"The world is such a diverse place and it's going to have so many diverse opinions," Sethu added. "You're going get another [Doctor] at some point that will be right for you."
Moving away from any hostility about the show Doctor Who Season 2, we're strong believers that this season is off to an exciting start.
It begins with Belinda and her boyfriend Alan (Jonny Green), who isn't really the best choice of partner. He says things like, "I know that girls aren't good at maths." We'll pass on the misogyny, thanks. But Alan says he wants to "capture" the night sky and has a star named after Belinda.
Seventeen years later, no longer dating Alan, Belinda works as a nurse and that star becomes particularly important, as she learns from The Doctor.
One of the most attractive things about this Doctor and companion pairing is that she challenges The Doctor in a way we haven't seen to this extent before. She's not particularly excited about travelling through time with this person she just met. Belinda just wants to live her existing life.
She also doesn't shy away from a sarcastic remark like saying, 'There's always a doctor standing back while all the nurses do the hard work."
"She wasn't just charmed," Sethu said about her character. "I think it speaks so much to her sense of self and her own life and how she sees her own purpose."
"She's not going to go along with somebody else because he's turned up and said, 'Oh this is adventurous. This is fun.' She's saying, 'No. I know where my place is in world and that's where I want to stay. That's where I want to go.' ... I think it also means that she makes a mirror to The Doctor, because she's able to hold him accountable and reflect back. This is who you are. ... These are the consequences of your actions."
For Gatwa, moving into Season 2 was about evolving and expanding from all the "enthusiasm" and "excitement" The Doctor had in the previous season.
"He, I think already, before we meet Belinda, certainly in the Christmas episode, there's an introspection that's happening," Gatwa said. "And he's really joined The Doctor club in terms of embracing his loneliness and the fact that he craves connection."
"So this season there's a grounded-ness to him. ... It felt really nice to come back this season ... feeling more comfortable in my body, having played him for a season. ... And then he meets a very fiery nurse who also he challenges him and enables him to grow, ... and they grow together and become such a beautiful partnership."
And that's a core element of the excitement around Gatwa at The Doctor. The character can be full of energy and magnetism, but can also show moments of vulnerability, making Gatwa a particularly endearing Doctor. Gatwa should certainly be seen as a great asset in the evolution of Doctor Who.