The Coronation Street actor, 18, will play the role of Ruby Sunday, companion to the new doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, when the show returns towards the end of 2023. Last month, fans got their first glimpse of Gatwa, 30, who will play the 15th incarnation of the Time Lord, when he appeared briefly in a trailer at the end of The Power of the Doctor – Jodie Whittaker’s last outing as the character – saying : “Somebody tell me what the hell is going on here?” The 30-year-old Sex Education star is the first black actor to portray the Doctor as the show’s lead. Black British actor Jo Martin played the role in an episode called The Fugitive Doctor. Whittaker’s four-year tenure as the show’s first female lead ended in a special episode that saw a number of returning faces from the show. There was also an unexpected twist when he was regenerated into the returning Time Lord David Tennant rather than Gatwa. The 90-minute special was made as part of the BBC’s centenary celebrations and also featured cameos from actors who had piloted the Tardis in the 1980s and 1990s, with Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann reprising their roles as the Doctor . Mandip Gill played Whittaker’s assistant Yasmin Khan throughout her tenure as the Doctor from 2018 to 2022. Doctor Who is set to return next year with hit It’s a Sin creator Russell T Davies back at the helm. Davies led the revival of Doctor Who from 2005 to 2009. Get our weekly pop culture email delivered free to your inbox every Friday Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Tennant will appear as the Doctor in three episodes – before Gatwa’s debut airs – alongside his returning co-star Catherine Tate for Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary next year. The duo reunited after 12 years. Tennant, 51, first stepped into the Tardis in 2005 to play the 10th Time Lord, with his final episode airing on New Year’s Day 2010. Tate, 52, starred as his partner Donna Noble.
