BBC Canceling Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor Who?

When Ncuti Gatwa was asked about the future of his take on Doctor Who he gave the talk show host a brief breakdown of the plans for the show. His full statement was, “We did the second series this year, the Christmas special is coming up, and we are filming a third series next year.” It was his final claim about filming Season 3 that caused the controversy. 

But when the episode reached the airwaves, Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor Who comment had been edited. His final comment about the third season was removed from the interview and replaced by brief clips from other parts of the interview. That removed snippet sent fans into panic mode, with conspiracy theories about the edit immediately popping up. 

Many fans felt that the comment from Ncuti Gatwa was edited out by The BBC because there are plans in place to fire the Doctor Who actor. The fact that The Graham Norton Show is also produced by The BBC and the content of what was edited out were used as evidence for the conspiracy theory. A sense of uncertainty around the show’s future has added to the conspiracy’s sense of legitimacy for some fans. 

The BBC denied censoring Ncuti Gatwa and claimed the edit had nothing to do with what he said about Doctor Who. They pointed out that it’s common for talk shows to edit interviews to help the show’s pacing, which is why the actor’s comment was tweaked. Critics of the conspiracy have noted that the actor was promoting his role in The Importance of Being Earnest on the show, meaning the team behind the sci-fi show wouldn’t have been involved in the interview. 

However, The BBC did clarify that Ncuti Gatwa’s comments about Doctor Who aren’t necessarily accurate. They clarified that no decision about the role will be made until after Season 2 airs next year, which means the actor’s involvement is at least up for question. Before the incident, showrunner Russel T. Davies made a similar comment about Season 2 deciding the next season’s fate. 

External factors have helped to create the sense that Ncuti Gatwa may leave Doctor Who. Disney has expressed that they may pull out of co-producing the show next year, which would force the show to restructure completely for budgetary and production reasons. Anonymous sources have also claimed that the actor himself has been searching out other roles that could interfere with the show’s schedule. 

The simple truth is that fans won’t know if Ncuti Gatwa will get a third season of Doctor Who until an announcement is made after Season 2 has aired. It’s likely the interview comment was made off-hand and based on the assumption that the show is renewed. With so many factors influencing the show’s future, fans should take comments about its future with a grain of salt, even if they’re coming from those involved in making the show.