Colin Baker: top related news

Former Doctor Who Sylvester McCoy, who played the iconic Time Lord between 1987 and 1989, has released a video in which he warmly welcomes Ncuti Gatwa to the role. In a surprise announcement released on Sunday, the BBC officially confirmed that Sex Education star Gatwa would be taking over the role of the Doctor from Jodie Whittaker in the long-running science fiction series as the fourteenth incarnation of the character. The concept of «regeneration,» the process in which the Doctor changes their physical appearance when dying, has been a staple of the show as far back as 1966, and has seen a range of actors portray the character over its near-60 year run. Whittaker made history as the first female Doctor, and now Gatwa himself has marked an equally historic milestone for the program in being the first BIPOC actor to portray the character as a series lead. Although little is currently known about Gatwa's debut, he is due to succeed Whittaker following her final episode later this year, with former showrunner Russell T. Davies returning to Doctor Who to helm the new Doctor's stories.