Ncuti Gatwa 'to begin filming on Doctor Who in November'

The current Doctor, Jodie Whittaker, will bow out in a special episode of the BBC sci-fi series expected to air in October as part of the BBC's centenary celebrations.

The baton will then pass back to David Tennant, who previously fronted the show between 2005 and 2010 and will return alongside Catherine Tate as Donna Noble as part of Doctor Who's own 60th anniversary.

Gatwa was revealed as the next series lead back in May. It's not been confirmed if the actor will play a part in any 60th anniversary episodes, though Neil Patrick Harris – cast as a villain in an upcoming episode – recently let slip that he "got to meet and interact" with Gatwa while filming.

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Gatwa will next be seen in the Barbie movie alongside Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling and will also reprise his role of Eric in the fourth season of Netflix's Sex Education, which is now filming.

Russell T Davies, who previously served as Doctor Who executive producer and head writer from 2005 to 2010, will return as showrunner for the 60th anniversary and beyond alongside first Tennant and then Gatwa.

Earlier this year, Davies told RadioTimes.com: "There are things coming up that are brand new ways of telling stories that have never been done before [in Doctor Who], so it just feels new – I wouldn't have gone back if it wasn't feeling new.

"I'm sitting here now, 10 pages away from a climax thinking, 'God, I've never been in this territory before – this is strange and new."

It has been reported that the next era of Doctor Who will see a number of additions, innovations and changes, including a new BBC Three companion series titled Doctor Who: Unleashed – similar in format to Doctor Who Confidential, the behind-the-scenes sister show that ran from 2005 to 2012 – and a streaming deal that would see Doctor Who available to stream on Disney Plus internationally.

Doctor Who is 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.

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