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The Independent
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Ncuti Gatwa on why he's handing back Doctor Who's sonic screwdriver
Ncuti Gatwa has released a statement about leaving Doctor Who after his character regenerated into Billie Piper during the show's finale. Gatwa's departure confirms him as the actor with the second shortest tenure in the role, following Christopher Eccleston - who latest one season. Gatwa expressed gratitude for his time as the Doctor, acknowledging the fans and the iconic nature of the role. Showrunner Russell T Davies thanked Gatwa and welcomed Billie Piper's return, hinting at a new storyline. Gatwa's exit from Doctor Who follows his withdrawal from representing the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest and his upcoming role in the West End premiere of Born With Teeth.
Geek Vibes Nation
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Vibes Nation
'Doctor Who' Season 2 Finale Review - A Hollowly Nostalgic Trainwreck
The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) | Photo Credit: James Pardon/BBC Studios/Disney/Bad Wolf Well, that sure was a mess of a finale. After eight weeks, the Doctor and Belinda's journey back to May 24, 2025 ends in more of a whimper than a bang. Written by Russell T. Davies and directed by Alex Sanjiv Pillai, 'Wish World' and 'The Reality War' form a two-part finale that promises answers to lingering questions from across the Fifteenth Doctor's era and satisfying conclusions to a string of character arcs. But instead, it's a two-hour trainwreck from start to finish; an unsatisfying combination of strong premises, hollow nostalgia, and desperate ratings grabs that leaves a bad taste in your mouth and gives Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor the worst send-off of any modern Doctor so far. Note: major spoilers for 'Wish World' and 'The Reality War' follow. A Wish Gone Wrong After the explosive end of 'The Interstellar Song Contest', the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda (Varada Sethu) wake up in their idyllic suburban home, their young daughter, Poppy (Sienna-Robyn Mavanga-Phipps) calling to them. But this isn't the Earth Belinda's been trying to return to. No, this is a world wished up by Conrad Clark (Jonah Hauer-King); a nuclear family-inspired callback to the heteronormative suburbs of yesteryear. It's a world devoid of identity and self-expression. Except the Doctor's doubt may literally crack the universe in two. Meanwhile, the Rani (Archi Panjabi) and Mrs. Flood hope to utilize all this doubt to free the First Time Lord, Omega, from his prison so they can create a new Gallifrey. Can the Doctor remember who he is and put a stop to the Unholy Trinity's evil plans? Or is this the end of everything the Doctor and his friends have ever known? 'Wish World' and 'The Reality War' offer a mixed bag of missed opportunities and hollow nostalgia. On the one hand, most of 'Wish World' serves as a timely satire of dystopian societies that idolize a heteronormative past that never existed, complete with a knowing wink at the fragilities of such fantasies. On the other hand, you've got an endless list of self-indulgent callbacks to Doctor Who 's past that form the rest of the finale. It's nostalgic nonsense that feels empty and devoid of any meaning. And the finale throws all of that goodwill generated by the first half of 'Wish World' out the window in favor of hollow fan service that goes nowhere, says nothing, and does little. Based on this finale, Doctor Who feels like a show trapped in its own shadow, terrified to truly try something new—despite 62 years spent proving the value of constantly innovating. The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) | Photo Credit: James Pardon/BBC Studios/Disney/Bad Wolf A Mixed Bag of Character Beats The finale's character beats make for a similarly mixed bag. The Doctor's continued longing for a family takes center stage, a wish that's finally granted to him with Belinda and Poppy in 'Wish World'. But that joy gets cruelly taken away as the Doctor realizes his paradise is fake. Still, his endless longing leads him to quite literally give up his life in the sheer hopes of saving Poppy (who ends up being Belinda's child in the real world); a true act of heroism in this mess of a story. Otherwise, it's Millie Gibson's Ruby who shines the brighest, as she's the only person who seems to remember the world before Conrad's wish took over. And it's Ruby who defeats Conrad and remembers Poppy after she disappears from reality following that defeat In a way, she's more crucial to the story than either Doctor or Belinda. Which brings us to the biggest flawed character beat: Belinda Chandra feels like a former shell of herself. Gone is the Belinda who faced off against cartoon gods and unknowable horrors. Instead, she largely fades into the background as she hides away in a crate with Poppy and allows the Doctor to, later, go off on his own to save Poppy after the wish's end erases her from existence. A disapponting turn of events for a character so strongly introduced eight weeks ago. It's not that Belinda being a mother is a bad thing. It's that she's never once mentioned it in all of her time with the Doctor, despite the episode's final minutes suggesting she'd done just that in scenes never previously shown. Instead of the season using Belinda's daughter as a driving motivation, her existence feels tacked on in a way that ignores everything the show's previously told us. Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) and Poppy (Sienna-Robyn Mavanga-Phipps) | Photo Credit: James Pardon/BBC Studios/Disney/Bad Wolf An Exercise in Hollow Nostalgia The root of these problems is Doctor Who 's current obsession with hollow nostalgia. Like several other legacy franchises, Doctor Who seems to think the mere existence of legacy characters offers a strong enough draw to entice fans into overlooking any narrative deficiencies. At least, that's certainly how this finale feels because there's just not a story here. You've got legacy Doctor Who villain, the Rani, trying to find legacy Doctor Who villain, Omega, so they can bring back legacy Doctor Who location, Gallifrey. But there's no drama and no emotional connection. In fact, the Rani and Omega don't even feel like themselves. Gatwa, Panjabi, and Dobson can try as hard as they like to sell their characters' pasts—and they do try—but there's just nothing there. So, what's the point? 'Freaky Tales' Review - A Lot Happening, But Leaves Us Wanting More Without a cohesive narrative or a group of characters to emotionally invest in, what's left to care about? A Wikipedia-style list of plot points and callbacks to past stories that were both more inventive and more enjoyable? No amount of mustache-twirling, scenery-chewing energy from Panjabi and Dobson can make up for the narrative's fundamental disinterest in exploring anything about their characters as fully rounded people. Their existence is just fan service in chase of a story rather than an exciting, innovative story delighting in playing with fan-favorite characters from the past. Say what you will about Davies' finales from his first tenure as showrunner but at least he knew then that if the character drama works, then the audience will forgive a wonky plot. But here, he chases solely after plot twists and cameos and winks at the expense of meaningful conclusions to the characters' arcs, and it shows. A Future Obsessed with its Past All of this hollow nostalgia comes to a head in the final twenty minutes or so of 'The Reality War'—an ending that feels as though it was changed months after the fact in a series of reshoots. Having defeated the Unholy Trinity, the Doctor, Belinda, and Poppy prepare to continue traveling. Except as Conrad's wish fades away, so too does Poppy. But the Doctor vows to save her at any cost. But in doing so, he begins to regenerate. As far as regeneration-prompting events go, it's ho-hum; somewhat emotionally satisfying, perhaps, but one that doesn't feel remotely alluded to. Aided by a surprise cameo from Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor, Gatwa's Doctor begins the process of saying goodbye, complete with the speech we've all grown to expect. And despite the fact that Gatwa's departure's been kept a secret and the episode as a whole does a terrible job at even hinting at his departure, it's a decent enough send off. Until the regeneration itself. Plagued by special effects that look barely finished (and significantly worse than those twenty years ago), Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor regenerates into…Billie Piper, last seen on Doctor Who as Rose Tyler, companion to Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant's 9th and 10th Doctors. And no disrespect to Piper, but for a show defined by its ability to move forward, two of the past three Doctors being David Tennant and Billie Piper both returning to the show feels hopelessly backward-looking. It's all very 'Somehow, Palpatine returned' of the show in the worst way possible. And with Doctor Who 's future looking quite uncertain, it feels desperate in the most cynical of ways; a last-ditch attempt to goose the ratings and earn the show a third reprive. But if this is the cost, perhaps Doctor Who may indeed be due for another rest. The 13th Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and The 15th Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) | Photo Credit: James Pardon/BBC Studios/Disney/Bad Wolf Final Thoughts And with that, Doctor Who 's second season comes to a whimper of an end. After a strong run of episodes, Doctor Who just couldn't nail the landing. It's as if the show decided midway through the finale to completely ignore everything that's made the rest of the season so good and lean into its very worst habits. 'Wish World' and 'The Reality War' offer up an exercise in hollow nostalgia in search of a meaningful story. It's a collection of things happening with no real connective tissue. A surprise regeneration episode in the worst possible way and, perhaps most damningly, a perfect example of why Doctor Who might just need a rest. Say what you will about the finales of seasons' past but at least they tried to do something new, regardless of how well they accomplished it. But this finale? It's a whole lot of disappointing nothing. Doctor Who season two is available now on Disney+.
Telegraph
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Doctor Who shouldn't be a woman, Billie Piper once said
Billie Piper – Ncuti Gatwa 's apparent replacement – once rejected the idea that Doctor Who should ever be played by a woman. The actress, who was unveiled as the BBC show's titular character in the series finale on Saturday night, had previously called it 'a man's role'. Russell T Davies, the Doctor Who showrunner, first pitched the idea of a woman taking on the lead role in 2005, when the sci-fi show was revived. But Piper was originally opposed to the move, telling Hello! magazine in 2009: 'I don't think the Doctor should be a woman. Forgive me, I know it's not a feminist thing to say, but it's like saying, 'Let's make James Bond a woman'. It's a man's role.' She later appeared to have a change of heart, giving an interview to the BBC in 2017 in which she said she felt it was time to cast a woman in the role. Piper told the broadcaster: 'I think it would be great [to have a female Doctor] given the spirit of the world at the moment. I think it would be timely.' The 42-year-old first appeared in the series as the companion to the ninth Doctor in 2005, playing Rose Tyler alongside Christopher Eccleston 's Time Lord, and then again to the 10th Doctor, played by David Tennant. On Saturday, she appeared in the show to replace Gatwa, who leaves Doctor Who after two seasons, arriving on screen with the words 'Oh, hello!'. Piper said: 'It's no secret how much I love this show, and I have always said I would love to return to the Whoniverse as I have some of my best memories there, so to be given the opportunity to step back on that Tardis one more time was just something I couldn't refuse, but who, how, why and when, you'll just have to wait and see.' Shortly after the finale aired, the actress shared a post on Instagram holding a rose with the caption that read: 'A rose is a rose is a rose !!!' Since Piper left the Whoniverse, she starred in the ITV series Secret Diary of a Call Girl, and portrayed the Newsnight producer Sam McAlister in Netflix's Scoop, which told the behind-the-scenes story of Emily Maitlis's interview with the Duke of York. Gatwa's time on the show came to an end on Saturday following speculation that he had been axed after he pulled out of hosting Eurovision and the sci-fi series being dogged by accusations of wokeness. Rumours were rife that he had dropped out amid controversy over Israel's participation in the contest, but there was no confirmation that was the case. Born in Rwanda before moving to Scotland, Gatwa said: 'You know when you get cast, at some point you are going to have to hand back that sonic screwdriver and it is all going to come to an end, but nothing quite prepares you for it. 'This journey has been one that I will never forget, and a role that will be part of me forever. 'There are no words to describe what it feels like to be cast as the Doctor, nor are there words to explain what it feels like to be accepted into this iconic role that has existed for over 60 years and is truly loved by so many across the globe.' The finale also saw Jodie Whittaker, the 13th Doctor, make a guest appearance as Gatwa's Doctor appeared to be travelling through alternate universes. The credit at the end of the programme said: 'Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor. Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor. And introducing Billie Piper.' Whittaker, the first woman to play the Time Lord, announced in July 2021 that she would depart after three series of the sci-fi show.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Doctor Who: The Reality War – season two finale and Ncuti Gatwa era recap
And just like that, he was gone, and the Ncuti Gatwa era is over. It was the shortest tenure in the role since Christopher Eccleston did just one series in 2005, and even within his brief run there was more than one episode where Gatwa barely featured. But without doubt the first Black actor to lead the show left his mark on the role – an incarnation with a winning smile, the catchphrase 'babes', relentless enthusiasm, and without the emotional baggage that was increasingly weighing down his predecessors. He departed with joy. With episodes like this, it is very much about enjoying the ride as it rushes from scene to scene, without worrying too much about whether the actual plot makes sense. That may not be the kind of Doctor Who everybody wants. The scene between Gatwa and the returning Jodie Whittaker was beautifully played. The lines about the 13th Doctor never telling Yaz she loved her were perfectly pitched by Russell T Davies to give closure to the awkward non-committal scenes we saw between Whittaker and Mandip Gill in The Power of the Doctor from the pen of Chris Chibnall. Millie Gibson's Ruby Sunday again shone in scenes where she was the protagonist rather than the sidekick. Her decision, after everything he had done, to choose the kindness of wishing Conrad (Jonah Hauer-King) happiness, rather than vengeance, was one of the most Doctor Who things ever. Archie Panjabi's take on the Rani, unhinged by the destruction of Gallifrey and the sterility of the Time Lords and unrequited in her feelings for the Doctor was exquisite, and Anita Dobson as Mrs Flood was always a tremendous presence on screen. But if we are talking about unrequited feelings, the surprise return of Steph de Whalley as Anita quickly turned from happiness to see her to experiencing her sadness as we saw her watch the Doctor and Rogue (Jonathan Groff) dancing in the past, and realise that Gatwa was never going to be her man. And so, at the end, a season that gave us both Dugga Doo and Mr Ring-a-Ding finished with Billie Piper saying 'Oh, hello!'. What a wild nonsensical ride it has been. What if Doctor Who did the weirdest thing it could possibly do and appear to cast a former companion as the lead? Belinda (Varada Sethu) was thankfully back to the spikier version of her that we first met in The Robot Revolution and Lux, rather than the bland version that appeared in the mid-season episodes, but it appears she has departed the show along with Gatwa. It would have been nice to have more of her. The battle scene which pitted the Avengers tower from Marvel against bone dinosaurs pretending to be At-Ats from Star Wars was hilarious, but in this episode it was really only the brief CGI appearance of Omega that was an alien big bad. If the fear last week was the fear of otherness in a dystopian world, the fear here was that of losing a child – or wanting one but never getting the chance. A very human fear that might hit very differently depending on your own personal circumstances. Probably the biggest mystery is that having introduced a cameo of Carole Ann Ford as the Doctor's granddaughter Susan two episodes ago, and this episode revolving around whether Poppy was the Doctor's daughter, that the two were not tied together. It was also surely deliberate that the end credits very clearly said 'Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor. Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor. And introducing Billie Piper' but did not specify who it was introducing her as. And Anita mentioned 'the boss', a reference back to a set-up by the Meep way back in 2023's 60th anniversary special The Star Beast, a story that now appears to be two Doctors ago. Gatwa's decision to pronounce Omega differently to everybody around him will surely go down in Doctor Who lore along with Matt Smith's mispronounced Metebelis III during Hide. Anita opening time doors left, right and centre looking for the Doctor in his past suggests that perhaps in every episode since 1974 some combination of her, Clara's impossible girl, and Sutekh clinging to the Tardis have all been present. It is getting a bit crowded in the past. I forgot to mention last week that the inclusion of a clip of Kate O'Mara playing the Rani in a flashback sequence lifted from 1993 Comic Relief EastEnders crossover episode Dimensions in Time finally makes it officially canon. The War Between the Land and the Sea – featuring Russell Tovey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jemma Redgrave and Ruth Madeley among others – sees Unit face off against the sea devils, and is expected to be broadcast later this year. With no confirmed news on the future of Doctor Who, there was a chance this may be the last episode-by-episode recap for some time, or possibly ever? But Billie Piper's appearance didn't feel like the end of the series, did it? Either way, I'd like to sign off by thanking all the production staff and comment moderation team that help the recaps happen, the people at the BBC who arrange early access to the episodes and invitations to screenings, you below the line for all your incisive and entertaining comments over the years, and of course, thanks to the much-loved and much-missed Dan Martin, who got the ball rolling 15 years ago with his recap blog of Matt Smith debut The Eleventh Hour. As Gatwa said as he departed the show, this has been an absolute joy. See you … soon? Season 2 Episode 1: The Robot Revolution Episode 2: Lux Episode 3: The Well Episode 4: Lucky Day Episode 5: The Story and the Engine Episode 6: The Interstellar Song Contest Episode 7: Wish World Episode 8: The Reality War Season 1 Episodes 1 & 2: Space Babies / The Devil's Chord Episode 3: Boom Episode 4: 73 Yards Episode 5: Dot and Bubble Episode 6: Rogue Episode 7: The Legend of Ruby Sunday Episode 8: Empire of Death Christmas special: Joy to the World 60th anniversary specials Special 1: The Star BeastSpecial 2: Wild Blue YonderSpecial 3: The GiggleChristmas special: The Church on Ruby Road Flux / Series 13 Chapter one: The Halloween ApocalypseChapter two: War of the SontaransChapter three: Once, Upon TimeChapter four: Village of the AngelsChapter five: Survivors of the FluxChapter six: The VanquishersNew Year's Special: Eve of the DaleksSpring special: Legend of the Sea DevilsBBC centenary special: The Power of the Doctor Series 12 Episode 1: Spyfall part oneEpisode 2: Spyfall part twoEpisode 3: Orphan 55Episode 4: Nikola Tesla's Night of TerrorEpisode 5: Fugitive of the JudoonEpisode 6: PraxeusEpisode 7: Can You Hear Me?Episode 8: The Haunting of Villa DiodatiEpisode 9: Ascension of the CybermenEpisode 10: The Timeless ChildrenNew Year's special: Revolution of the Daleks Series 11 Episode 1: The Woman Who Fell to EarthEpisode 2: The Ghost MonumentEpisode 3: RosaEpisode 4: Arachnids in the UKEpisode 5: The Tsuangra CondundrumEpisode 6: Demons of the PunjabEpisode 7: Kerblam!Episode 8: The WitchfindersEpisode 9: It Takes You AwayEpisode 10: The Battle of Ranskoor Av KolosNew Year's special: Resolution Series 10 Episode 1: The PilotEpisode 2: SmileEpisode 3: Thin IceEpisode 4: Knock KnockEpisode 5: OxygenEpisode 6: ExtremisEpisode 7: The Pyramid at the End of the WorldEpisode 8: The Lie of the LandEpisode 9: Empress of MarsEpisode 10: The Eaters of LightEpisode 11: World Enough and TimeEpisode 12: The Doctor Falls2017 Christmas special: Twice Upon A Time Series 9 Episode 1: The Magician's ApprenticeEpisode 2: The Witch's FamiliarEpisode 3: Under The LakeEpisode 4: Before The FloodEpisode 5: The Girl Who DiedEpisode 6: The Woman Who LivedEpisode 7: The Zygon InvasionEpisode 8: The Zygon InversionEpisode 9: Sleep No MoreEpisode 10: Face The RavenEpisode 11: Heaven SentEpisode 12: Hell Bent2015 Christmas special: The Husbands of River Song2016 Christmas special: The Return of Doctor Mysterio Series 8 Episode 1: Deep BreathEpisode 2: Into The DalekEpisode 3: Robot of SherwoodEpisode 4: ListenEpisode 5: Time HeistEpisode 6: The CaretakerEpisode 7: Kill The MoonEpisode 8: Mummy on the Orient ExpressEpisode 9: FlatlineEpisode 10: In the Forest of the NightEpisode 11: Dark WaterEpisode 12: Death In Heaven2014 Christmas special: Last Christmas Series 7 Episode 1: Asylum of the DaleksEpisode 2: Dinosaurs on a SpaceshipEpisode 3: A Town Called MercyEpisode 4: The Power of ThreeEpisode 5: The Angels Take Manhatten2012 Christmas special: The SnowmenEpisode 6: The Bells of Saint JohnEpisode 7: The Rings of AkhatenEpisode 8: Cold WarEpisode 9: HideEpisode 10: Journey to the Centre of the TardisEpisode 11: The Crimson HorrorEpisode 12: Nightmare in SilverEpisode 13: The Name of the Doctor50th Anniversary special: The Day of the Doctor2013 Christmas special: The Time of the Doctor Series 6 Episode 1: The Impossible AstronautEpisode 2: Day of the MoonEpisode 3: The Curse of the Black SpotEpisode 4: The Doctor's WifeEpisode 5: The Rebel FleshEpisode 6: The Almost PeopleEpisode 7: A Good Man Goes To WarEpisode 8: Let's Kill HitlerEpisode 9: Night TerrorsEpisode 10: The Girl Who WaitedEpisode 11: The God ComplexEpisode 12: Closing TimeEpisode 13: The Wedding of River Song2011 Christmas special: The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe Series 5 Episode 1: The Eleventh HourEpisode 2: The Beast BelowEpisode 3: Victory of the DaleksEpisode 4: The Time of AngelsEpisode 5: Flesh and StoneEpisode 6: The Vampires of VeniceEpisode 7: Amy's ChoiceEpisode 8: The Hungry EarthEpisode 9: Cold BloodEpisode 10: Vincent and the DoctorEpisode 11: The LodgerEpisode 12: The Pandorica OpensEpisode 13: The Big Bang2010 Christmas special: A Christmas Carol
Khaleej Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Doctor Who regenerates as Ncuti Gatwa leaves and Billie Piper returns
Ncuti Gatwa, the first Black actor to play the lead role in British sci-fi show Doctor Who, departed the series last week in a season finale that saw familiar face Billie Piper reappear in his place. The Doctor, who travels through time in what appears to be a blue police telephone box, has the ability to regenerate, allowing a number of actors to play the role since the series was first broadcast in 1963. In a surprise twist, Gatwa regenerated into the form of Billie Piper - who played one of the Doctor's companions in 2005 and 2006. "I've loved every minute of it, but now is the time to hand over the keys to that beloved blue box and let someone else take control and enjoy it every bit as much as I have," said Gatwa, 32, who was announced as the 14th Doctor three years ago. Piper, 42, won plaudits for her portrayal of Rose Tyler, an instrumental character in the show's successful 2005 revival after a 16-year hiatus. "To be given the opportunity to step back on that TARDIS one more time was just something I couldn't refuse," Piper said, referring to the Doctor's police box. Showrunner Russell T Davies said the "why and who" behind Piper's return to the show had yet to be told. "After 62 years, the Doctor's adventures are only just beginning!" Davies said.
