Ncuti Gatwa recalls difficult decision to leave Doctor Who: "I had to wrestle with myself"
"I’ll miss it, but I was ready to move on.”
Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa has opened up about how difficult he found the decision to leave the show, saying he had to "wrestle" with himself over it.
Gatwa, who played the Fifteenth Doctor, departed the BBC sci-fi in The Reality War after two seasons, with a shock final scene showing him regenerating into Billie Piper.
Speaking to The Telegraph about leaving Doctor Who, Gatwa explained: "I was tired and burnt out at the end of [season 2]. It was exhausting. But it was a magical time, magical.
“There was never an opportunity to recoup the energy – it’s just go, go, go. I was doing seven-day weeks for eight months, and I found it hard being away from home and family. I’d already been shooting in Cardiff for five years (on and off) prior to that with Sex Education, and we started shooting Doctor Who while I was still doing Season four of Sex Ed.”
He added of his decision to leave: “I had to wrestle with myself – I fell in love with that show. I’ll miss it, but I was ready to move on.”
During his time on the show, Gatwa faced plenty of foes, including Sutekh, the Midnight entity, the Rani and Omega.
However, he recently revealed he has one regret about his time as the Doctor, saying on The One Show: "I never got to fight a Dalek. A Dalek or a Cyberman. I mean, just the crux of Doctor Who. So, might do that! Might go fight a Dalek!"
However, we could potentially see Gatwa back in future. While his time as the Doctor is over for now, when asked if he could make a return at some point as many Doctors have over the years, he simply replied: "Never say never."
For now, fans are awaiting a decision about whether Disney will recommission more seasons of Doctor Who - although the BBC has made it clear that they will continue the show regardless of that decision.
Next year, meanwhile, will see the release of new Doctor Who spin-off The War Between the Land and the Sea.
Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
Louise Griffin is the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Editor for Radio Times, covering everything from Doctor Who, Star Wars and Marvel to House of the Dragon and Good Omens. She previously worked at Metro as a Senior Entertainment Reporter and has a degree in English Literature.
