Doctor Who's Ncuti Gatwa: 'I'd be so angry if I never get to face a Dalek'
"What on earth would be the point of me being Doctor Who without facing a Dalek!"
As we approach Ncuti Gatwa's first season of Doctor Who, fans shouldn't expect to see his Doctor facing off against his most iconic foe, the Daleks, with Russell T Davies having confirmed last year that he felt they needed "a good pause".
The Daleks had, of course, featured heavily in preceding years, appearing in multiple specials during the Thirteenth Doctor's era, as well as across season 13, aka Flux, and that Doctor's swan song The Power of the Doctor.
An incomplete Dalek was then seen in last year's Children in Need special, starring David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor, and it seemed that would be the last time we would see them for a while.
However, Gatwa has now thrown his own thoughts into the mix, saying in a recent interview that he would be "so angry" if his Doctor never got to do battle with them.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Gatwa said: "I’ve heard chats about me not ever facing a Dalek. I’d be so angry if that’s the case!
"By the time that I’m done with Doctor Who, I better have faced a Dalek. What on earth would be the point of me being Doctor Who without facing a Dalek!"
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He would have good reason to be irked - were Gatwa not to face the Daleks, he would be the only Doctor not to have done so on-screen other than Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor, who himself has done so numerous times in audio dramas, and who appeared in The Power of the Doctor, which also featured the creatures (although not in the same scene).
Explaining his reasoning for leaving them out of Gatwa's first season, Davies previously said: "I do think we've had a lot of Daleks lately. Because, actually, lovely Chris Chibnall's Christmas specials have all been Daleks. So I think they've been done a lot, so people are expecting them every year now. So I think they need a good pause."
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Gatwa is currently filming his second season of the show alongside companions Millie Gibson, playing Ruby Sunday, and Varada Sethu, whose character name is currently unknown.
Beyond this, it is not yet known how many seasons Gatwa will be sticking around for, but in December 2022 he said of his future in the role: "No idea, no plan. I just know that I’m loving it and my love for it is growing."
Doctor Who will return on Saturday 11th May on BBC iPlayer and BBC One. Previous seasons are available to stream on BBC iPlayer with episodes of the classic series also available on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here.
Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
