Ncuti Gatwa applauded for defending Doctor Who fan from vile homophobic abuse: ‘A heart of gold’
Ncuti Gatwa leads the new series of Doctor Who. (Getty)
Ncuti Gatwa fans are praising the Doctor Who star after he defended a fan subjected to homophobic abuse.
Ever since he first gained queer icon status for his role as sassy gay teen Eric in Netflix’s Sex Education, Gatwa has made a point of standing up for marginalised communities, from bringing camp energy in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and living his best life while watching Beyoncé live with Doctor Who co-star Jonathan Groff, to thrilling fans with his Time Lord outfits.
Gatwa, who starts his occupancy of the Tardis under returning showrunner Russell T Davies at the end of the year, will be leading surely the queerest-ever season of the hit sci-fi series.
Not only will the three-episode 60th anniversary special in November include trans Heartstopper star Yasmin Finney and Uncoupled‘s Neil Patrick Harris, but Gatwa’s first season will also feature drag legend Jinkx Monsoon as a villain, Pete MacHale – the show’s first trans male actor – and musical theatre legend Groff in a “mysterious and exciting key role”.
While Doctor Who fans are already speculating about a potential romance between the 15th Doctor and Groff’s character, one Twitter user has revealed Gatwa’s epic response after she received homophobic abuse.
Taking to social media on Friday (19 May), Twitter user Siobhan tweeted a screenshot of an Instagram message from a troll who bombarded her with abuse after she dared to suggest the Doctor was always queer and Groff’s character could be a new romantic interest.
The troll called her a “f***king lunatic”, and claimed making the Doctor gay would be “r*****ed propaganda” that will “kill the ratings”.
Above the screenshot, Siobhan wrote: “This is what I get for saying that I want Ncuti’s Doctor and Jonathan’s character to be romantic, in a jokey way.
“It’s so scary that bigots are still in the Doctor Who fandom. Now I hope they do make Ncuti’s era the gayest Doctor Who era ever just to see idiots like this cry.”
But the saga didn’t end there. Before long, Gatwa contacted Siobhan over Instagram with a heartfelt message, making it clear that his Time Lord is here to support the LGBTQ+ Doctor Who fandom.
“I’m sorry you received such a horrible message from the awful guy,” he wrote in a screenshot subsequently shared by Siobhan.
“He’s been blocked and deleted from my account. Reported him extensively. I can’t stand stuff like that. Really hope you you’re OK. Lots of love.”
Siobhan said that the message “made her day”, adding with excitement: “This is our Doctor.” She then replied to Gatwa, thanking him.
“There will always bad people but we can’t let them beat us. Love and hope and diversity will always be at the core of Doctor Who and I know you, Russell [T Davies] and the rest of the cast will do a fantastic job.”
Gatwa then gave a response that made LGBTQ+ Doctor Who fans cheer, saying: “We’re looking after the show for you. Promise.”
Fans have expressed their love for Gatwa’s commitment to tackling homophobi.
What a wonderful man.
— OscarGroucho (@OscarGrouchos) May 19, 2023
A message that reinforces the qualities that make him a great role model, an amazing Doctor and even better human.
Hope you are doing ok today!
Don’t let hatred such dampen your sun! 👍🏾🏆🥇
This is so sweet – he seems like such a ray of sunshine and I’m so excited to see his take on the Doctor
— Tony Baloney (@babyleafsaladd) May 20, 2023
Now THAT’S a Doctor I can get behind. A man with a finger on the pulse on the fandom and a heart of gold. I dare say he’ll make a fine Doc, one of the best we’ve seen in years. Here’s to Ncuti and his upcoming era!
— Doctor Who: The Spiral of Infinity (@DW_SpiralOfInf) May 19, 2023
Doctor Who returns in November for the 60th anniversary special, starring David Tennant as the Doctor, and Catherine Tate as former companion Donna Noble. Gatwa takes over at Christmas, with a full series regenerating at the beginning of next year.
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