This science fiction series in dissemination since 1963 loses its main actor after only two seasons. But we already know who will replace him in the title role of the program!
Be careful, the following comes back in detail on the intrigue of the final of Doctor Who Season 2, now available on Disney+. If you haven't seen it yet, and do not want to know anything about its content, you are highly recommended to interrupt your reading of this article now.
His arrival in the series was the subject of a large promotion campaign. But Ncuti Gatwa will ultimately have stayed in Doctor Who only two small seasons. The British actor, known for his roles in Sex Education and Barbie, was offered the role of the Lord of Time on the occasion of the reboot of the series started during the special episodes for the 60th anniversary of the program.
We already know who will succeed Ncuti Gatwa!
Doctor Who follows the adventures of an extraterrestrial from the Gallifrey planet – the doctor – through time and space. He is generally accompanied in his travels with a companion, but regularly changes an interpreter because of the character's regeneration power. This process makes it possible to regularly renew the program, and make the doctor almost immortal.
In the official chronology of Doctor Who, Ncuti Gatwa is therefore the fifteenth incarnation of the doctor. But after only two seasons, the latter will give way to someone else and we already know who will be the sixteenth person to lend his features to the Lord of Time! The final episode of the season broadcast this weekend revealed that it was Billie Piper who inherits the main role of the series.
An event in more ways than one! The English actress thus becomes the second woman to embody the doctor after Jodie Whittaker. But Billie Piper is not just anyone, since she is also the interpreter of the Doctor's partner in the first two seasons of the series relaunched in 2005.
A surprise departure, but nevertheless planned since the start
The last appearance of Billie Piper in Doctor Who dates back to the special episode of the fiftieth anniversary, broadcast in 2013. The English actress had not, however, returned to the role of Rose, but in that of a cosmic entity. The latter, however, remained very close to the series team, and in particular David Tennant that we found with pleasure during the 60th anniversary of the series.
In a making-of video, Ncuti Gatwa returned to this unexpected departure but nevertheless long planned. “It has always been planned to do this number of seasons, because it is a role that requires a lot, physically, emotionally and mentally. (…) I would love to have the energy and youth necessary to do this full time for the rest of my life, but my knees tell me it's time.”
The showrunner of the Russell T. Davies series also reacted to this surprise return from Billie Piper. The screenwriter who had already orchestrated the first appearance of the actress in 2005 was delighted with this comeback in the new version of the series:
Billie changed the whole television for a first time in 2005, and now she starts again! It is an honor and a real pleasure to see her come back aboard the Tardis, but how, why and who she is, it is a story that remains to be told. After 62 years, the Doctor's adventures are just beginning!
Fans of Doctor Who will therefore find Billie Piper and Doctor Who on the occasion of the traditional Christmas episode, broadcast on December 25. Recall that the series is now broadcast in France exclusively on Disney+.
Discover the list of series currently available on the platform!
