Ncuti Gatwa has wrapped filming on Sex Education season 4, leaving him free to enter the TARDIS, which is good news for the future of Doctor Who. The hugely popular Netflix show has seen several cast members leave ahead of season 4 including Doctor Who audio companion Rakhee Thakrar. Ncuti Gatwa is the latest cast member to leave the show, as he embarks on his new role as the Doctor alongside Millie Gibson as new companion Ruby Sunday.
After leaving the Sex Education set for the last time, Ncuti Gatwa was spotted on location in Cardiff, resuming filming for Doctor Who season 14. While Gatwa isn't the first actor to have other work commitments when being cast as the Doctor, he's one of the rare few who simultaneously featured in another hugely popular TV show. Fifth Doctor actor Peter Davison was famously the lead actor in two other TV shows - Sink or Swim and Holding the Fort - at the same time as filming his first years of Doctor Who. In leaving Sex Education behind, Ncuti Gatwa can avoid some of the same issues experienced by Davison.
Ncuti Gatwa Quitting Sex Education Is Good For His Doctor Who Future
While it's still unclear if Sex Education will continue beyond season 4, Ncuti Gatwa has stated that he won't have any future involvement with the Netflix show. This is a good thing for his future on Doctor Who, given what a demanding show it can be. Despite Doctor Who's increased budgets, the show is still essentially like making a feature film every few weeks, purely because the Doctor's TARDIS can go anywhere. That means new sets, new costumes, new characters, new locations for each episode, and a grueling schedule for the regulars, even with season 14's reduced episode count.
With such an intense production schedule as the lead of Doctor Who, it will be a relief for Ncuti Gatwa not to then move on to work on another season of a big hit like Sex Education during his hiatus. Also, season 14's reduced episode count means that Ncuti Gatwa can hopefully avoid becoming exhausted with the role of the Doctor too quickly. Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi told Graham Norton back in 2017 that he was leaving Doctor Who because, due to the punishing 12-episode schedule, he worried that he "wouldn't be able to continue doing my best work." Not having to split his time between two hugely popular TV shows will help Ncuti Gatwa avoid these doubts for long enough to cement himself as one of the great Doctors.
Why Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor Should Last More Than 3 Seasons
Except for Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston, each of the modern Doctors' eras have consisted of three seasons with additional Christmas, seasonal, and anniversary specials. While this lives up to the old adage of Second Doctor Patrick Troughton that Doctors should "only do three years" it can sometimes feel like the TARDIS has a revolving door policy when it comes to Doctors. The recent revelations around the Timeless Child and the origins of regeneration have given the show an abundance of Doctors, meaning that the character is at risk of losing their uniqueness.
If Ncuti Gatwa did more than three seasons, he could truly cement himself as an iconic Doctor to challenge long-running icons like Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, and David Tennant. It would also hopefully re-establish the idea of The Doctor, rather than the Fifteenth Doctor in the audience's minds. As Sex Education's breakthrough star, freshly embarking on the next stage of his career, Ncuti Gatwa is more than up for the challenge of becoming the definitive modern Doctor Who.