Steven Moffat had high praise for actor Ncuti Gatwa and Russell T. Davies new Doctor Who series despite Gatwa’s debut being one of the worst performing episodes in the show’s entire history.
Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th Doctor in Doctor Who Christmas Special “The Church on Ruby Road” (2023), BBC
Speaking with Radio Times, Moffat, a former Doctor Who showrunner, informed the outlet, “Well, I think Ncuti is going to be [an] amazing Doctor, he’s going to be different. But I’ve already seen this, I think we all have in The Giggle, that he’s got all the command and all the presence of a classic Doctor, plus a whole funky new thing that’s going on. And that’s what we need.”
Moffat continued, “Because, you know, the funky new thing’s great, but what you’ve really got to have is, ‘I’m the guy who gives the orders.'”
Steven Moffat speaking at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con International, for “Sherlock”, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
He then shared what he enjoyed from The Giggle, “And the thing I particularly like from The Giggle is when he orders David Tennant out of the TARDIS. He says, ‘Beat it, kid,’ and that’s great.”
Moffat then declared, “He’s going to be a magnificent Doctor. And 20 years from now, people will be complaining that he’s not still in the show.”
Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th Doctor in Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special “The Giggle” (2023), BBC
Moffat’s comments come after Ncuti Gatwa’s first standalone episode and Christmas special “The Church on Ruby Road” was one of the least watched debuts for a new Doctor in the history of the show. It only saw 4.7 million people tune in to the episode in the United Kingdom.
The episode only outperformed the first first episode of Doctor Who, “An Unearthly Child” that saw William Hartnell play the Doctor. That episode, which premiered back in 1963 only brought in 4.4 million viewers and saw significantly reduced viewership due to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Subsequent episodes of Hartnell’s Doctor saw viewership balloon to 10.4 million by its 10th episode.
Not only was Gatwa’s first standalone episode of the Doctor, the second worst debut for a Doctor, but the episode had the worst ratings for a Doctor Who Christmas special ever.
A goblin n Doctor Who Christmas Special “The Church on Ruby Road” (2023), BBC
It’s unlikely that the ratings will increase when Gatwa’s Doctor returns sometime in May. Ratings were in general decline for the show’s 60th anniversary specials and the Christmas special.
The first of three 60th anniversary specials, “The Star Beast” that saw the return of David Tennant as the Doctor brought in 5.09 million. The second special “Wild Blue Yonder” saw viewership decline to 4.83 million. “The Giggle’s” viewership only clocked in at 4.62 million.
Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th Doctor and Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday in Doctor Who Christmas Special “The Church on Ruby Road” (2023), BBC
On top of the ratings already declining, Gatwa and his co-star Millie Gibson have made it abundantly clear the show will continue to propagandize to viewers.
Gatwa shared that upcoming episodes would promote his “very leftist, liberal bubble” worldview. He said, “As I say, I live in a very leftist, liberal bubble. And in fact, there’s a really great episode coming up next year where we lean into that.”
He also shared that the show would address and discuss his race, “Yes, definitely. It would be stupid if we didn’t.”
Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th Doctor in Doctor Who Christmas Special “The Church on Ruby Road” (2023), BBC
For her part, Millie Gibson told The Independent that she believes the show “will attract a lot of Gen Z” viewers since the season will “go with the times and represent a lot of faces and themes that are really important to see on television.”
To that point she also detailed, “There’s so many controversial elements to this season – the good sort of controversy – and it’s what we need to see on our tellies.”
Gibson even admitted that many viewers will be put off by the show, “Some people might think, ‘This isn’t the Doctor Who I know.’ But I’m really excited to see it … It’s really cool that they’re doing concepts like these and changing it up.”
Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday in Doctor Who Christmas Special “The Church on Ruby Road” (2023), BBC
What do you make of Moffat’s comments regarding Ncuti Gatwa?
“he orders David Tennant out of the TARDIS. He says, ‘Beat it, kid,’ and that’s great.” big oof.