Ncuti Gatwa leaves Doctor Who in shock regeneration

Warning: This article contains spoilers.

Ncuti Gatwa has left his role as the Doctor after playing the iconic character for two series on Doctor Who.

At the end of this evening’s series finale, Gatwa regenerated into Billie Piper, who previously played the Doctor’s companion, Rose Tyler.

In a press release, the BBC said: “just how and why she is back remains to be seen…”

Gatwa said: “This journey has been one that I will never forget, and a role that will be part of me forever.”

Piper first appeared in the show in 2005 when it returned to TV for the first time since the 1980s, appearing alongside Christopher Eccleston and then David Tennant.

If confirmed as the new Doctor, she will be the second woman to have played the role, following Jodie Whittaker.

Billie Piper, a former pop star who later turned to acting, has enjoyed a successful career on TV and on the stage.

After playing Rose Tyler for two full series in 2005 and 2006, she won acclaim for roles including sex worker Belle de Jour in Secret Diary of a Call Girl and the lead character in Sky Atlantic’s I Hate Suzie.

In 2017 she won a best actress award at the Olivier’s, for her performance in the play Yerma. And most recently was nominated for a Bafta for playing TV producer Sam McAlister in Scoop, a drama about Prince Andrew’s disastrous interview on Newsnight in 2019.

Gatwa has only played the Doctor for 18 months, appearing in two series. It’s the shortest time an actor has played the character since Christopher Eccleston left the show after one series in 2005.

In this evening’s episode he regenerated after a climactic battle with rogue Time Lady, The Rani, played by Archie Panjabi and Omega, the creator of the Time Lords.

There is still uncertainty about when the drama will return. Showrunner and head writer Russell T Davies has previously said that no decision would be made on commissioning the next series until this series had been broadcast.

The last two series of the show have been co-produced and broadcast internationally by streaming service Disney+, which has given the time travel drama a bigger budget. Discussions about whether the BBC and Disney wish to renew that deal, or whether other options should be explored, are likely to take some time.

For a new series to be ready for 2026, production would need to get under way relatively soon. So at the moment a new series or a special starring Billie Piper before 2027 looks unlikely.