Just in time for him to walk the BAFTA TV Awards red carpet, the BBC announced today that Rwandan-born Scottish actor and Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa will be the next person to fill the boots of iconic fantasy character The Doctor on the 60-year-old series Doctor Who once current star Jodie Whittaker regenerates her way out of the role. We won’t deny that we clapped our hands in glee at the news. “The new Doctor Who is Black and gay!” Tom announced to Lorenzo the moment he woke up. Then, there was something of a scramble on our parts to confirm the queer part of that sentence. Were we just making assumptions because he’s hot and he played a gay character on Sex Education? Research was needed here. Then we saw his red carpet appearance.
Oh, okay. He gay.
JUST KIDDING. You know we love when any man – cis, queer, straight or trans – brings some flair to the red carpet and we’ve been doing this long enough not to make assumptions based on how someone presents. Orange Culture Nigeria describes itself as “a ‘movement’ that covers universal silhouettes with an African touch to a creative class of men.” Mission accomplished! It’s a fabulous look and we love the sandals with it.
Actually, we went to his Instagram (always the first place to go when this particular question arises) and also looked through some interviews to confirm his queerness. Look, we won’t claim that his Black queerness was a necessity for the role or that it automatically means he’ll be great in it, but we’ve long maintained that the push by a portion of Who fandom to turn the iconic role over to actors who embody a more fully diverse, modern Great Britain is correct after fifty-plus years of the role going to white cishet men. Heroes come in every form imaginable and it’s very much a good thing for the culture when that idea is embraced and reinforced in our heroic fiction, especially with iconic characters (hence, the new bisexual Superman and Black lesbian queen of the Amazons in Wonder Woman). Jodie Whittaker has been utterly lovely in her time as The Doctor, but she was saddled with mediocre-to-downright bad scripts that not even her considerable charm and talent could overcome. Ncuti is funny and sexy on Sex Education and we’re loving the idea of him bringing that energy to this part. As he said in the BBC press release, “There aren’t quite the words to describe how I’m feeling. A mix of deeply honoured, beyond excited and of course a little bit scared. Unlike the Doctor, I may only have one heart, but I am giving it all to this show.” We are so here for this hot Black queer king showing us new adventures in time and space. Congratulations to him.
Style Credits:
Orange Culture Nigeria Black Peek-a-boo Blazer Worn with Petal Pants and Tassel Leather Strip Belt from the Spring 2022 Collection
[Photo Credit: Ian West/PA Images/INSTARimages, Jolaoso Wasiu Adebayo, Courtesy of Orange Culture Nigeria]
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