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Ncuti Gatwa’s future on Doctor Who is uncertain, with him admitting he had “no idea” whether he would be back for season three.
The 31-year-old actor appeared at San Diego Comic Con on Thursday alongside producer Russell T Davies and Millie Gibson, but kept quiet about whether he will continue in the role.
Russell, 62, added fuel to the fire when he admitted that no decisions have been made yet about who will play the lead roles in the third season, as they are still in the middle of filming the second season.
The screenwriter said, “We’ve shot season two, but it’s only halfway through. We’ve got months of shooting left. It’s a long way off, so there’s no decisions yet.”
Although Ncuti admitted he wasn’t sure yet whether he would return, he did say playing the Doctor is “surreal”.
Ncuti Gatwa’s future on Doctor Who is uncertain as he admitted he had ‘no idea’ if he would be back for season three
The actor, 31, who appeared at San Diego Comic Con on Thursday alongside producer Russell T Davies and Millie Gibson, kept quiet about whether he would continue in the role
“I’m still working on the Doctor, but season two was lovely. It felt like the suit really fitted. I found my feet in season one and had the time of my life, but season two felt like a chance to really show off the muscles,” he said, according to The mirror.
In addition to filming the second season, Ncuti will star in a West End production of The Importance of Being Earnest later this year.
Meanwhile, Millie, 20, who plays Ruby Sunday, will reportedly only make a fleeting appearance in the next series, despite joining Ncuti and Russell at Comic Con.
She is replaced by Varada Sethu, 32, who is seen in the film footage with Ncuti.
Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies previously confirmed that Millie’s character had been put on the back burner for the time being, but that she would return to the series soon.
He explained: ‘This is a pause. I really felt that Ruby’s story ended there. She couldn’t get all that information about her family, all that emotional overload, and run away in the TARDIS. It ends there. She comes back.’
In the meantime, Millie is busy with other projects, as she plays the lead role in the new version of The Forsyte Saga.
This happened after the future of the series was questioned, despite the fact that filming for the fifteenth season had already started. The fourteenth season did not attract viewers and resulted in ‘disappointing’ ratings.
Russell, 62, added fuel to the fire when he admitted no decisions have yet been made about who will star in season three (Ncuti pictured with co-star Millie and Russell)
Meanwhile, Millie, 20, who plays Ruby Sunday, will reportedly only make a passing appearance in the next series. She will be replaced by Varada Sethu, 32
An ambitious deal with Disney, rumoured to be worth $100 million, will see each episode air on BBC iPlayer at midnight on Friday to please US viewers, before airing on the traditional Saturday afternoon.
It marked an overall decline in audience numbers, despite the BBC having a contract with the US media giant that was intended to revitalise the show with lavish special effects. Davies, 61, said the deal would finally put the show ‘on the same level as your Star Wars and Marvel stuff’.
However, the final episode only drew 2.02 million viewers, a significant drop from Jodie Whittaker’s final outing as the first female Doctor, which was watched by 3.7 million people in real time.
