Neil Patrick Harris Confirms Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor is LGBTQ+

Since the reveal that Ncuti Gatwa would take over the leading role in Doctor Who from Jodie Whittaker in 2023, speculation has run rampant over what the actor will bring to the part. The Rwandan-born Scottish actor is the first Black actor to take the leading role in the TARDIS and the third youngest, bringing new energy to the series. But though Gatwa has never openly discussed his sexuality, his most significant role to date is as the out-and-proud Eric Effiong in Netflix's Sex Education, leading fans to wonder if his incarnation of the Doctor will also fall on the LGBTQ+ spectrum.

This question has been compounded by showrunner Russell T. Davis taking control not just of the TARDIS but the executive production rights for Doctor Who. After six decades of the BBC's total control of its flagship program, Davies' Bad Wolf Productions (a subsidiary of Sony Television) is now in charge. That means he can make more radical changes to the series without layers upon layers of concerned old-school TV programmers worrying about who might be offended. It also gives the openly LGBTQ+ Davies a freer hand in how the Doctor is portrayed.

In an interview, actor Neil Patrick Harris, who has worked with Davies on other projects like It's A Sin, and is now one of the few Americans to star in Doctor Who, confirmed Gatwa's Fourteenth Doctor will indeed be portrayed as gay. On Variety's Just for Variety podcast, Harris talked about filming the show's 60th-anniversary special and experiencing the show's new era. "I got to meet and interact with him a bit, and he's glorious," Harris confirmed. "He'll be the first gay Doctor, which is going to be super cool, a sexier Doctor."