David Tennant says Ncuti Gatwa’s performance as Doctor Who is a ‘force of nature’

David Tennant has praised Sex Education's Ncuti Gatwa for his take on Doctor Who

Tennant was the first to return to the franchise for a second time, but will soon hand over the reigns to Gatwa to be the 15th Doctor.

In a recent interview with Variety, Tennant was asked whether he had any advice for Gatwa.

"Oh God, what a force of nature. I’ve caught a little bit of him at work and it’s pretty exciting," he said.

"I mean, what advice would you give someone? You can see Ncuti has so much talent and energy. He’s so inspired and charismatic.

"The thing about something like this is: it’s the peripherals, it’s not the job.

"It’s the other stuff that comes with it, that I didn’t see coming. It’s a show that has so much focus and enthusiasm on it. It’s not like Ncuti hasn’t been in a massive Netflix series [Sex Education] but Doctor Who is on a slightly different level.

"It’s cross-generational, international, and has so much history, that it feels like it belongs to everyone."

Tennant said being at the centre of show like that can be 'overwhelming and terrifying'.

"It doesn’t come without some difficulties, such as the immediate loss of anonymity. It takes a bit of getting used to if that’s not been your life up to that point. I was very lucky that when I joined, Billie Piper [who played Tennant's on-screen companion Rose] was still there," he said.

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"She’d lived in a glare of publicity since she was 14, so she was a great guide for how to live life under that kind of scrutiny. I owe a degree of sanity to Billie."

Tennant first joined the series in 2005 and played The Doctor for six years.

This year, he returns to the franchise for three specials to celebrate the show's 60th anniversary.

Gatwa will then takeover as the 15th Doctor and is set to appear in at least two seasons of the series.

The 30-year-old actor follows in the footsteps of a long list of iconic actors who have played the role, including Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, and most recently Jodie Whittaker, who made history as the first woman to lead the series

Gatwa will be joined in the TARDIS by Millie Gibson, who stars as The Doctor's latest companion, Ruby Sunday.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone UK, Gatwa said he could see a lot of himself in The Doctor's story.

“This person survived a genocide. This person fits in everywhere and nowhere. I am the Doctor. The Doctor is me. I decided that I had to get this role,” he said.

Topics: Doctor Who, News, TV and Film, David Tennant

Keryn Donnelly