The man is like a thunderbolt, and he keeps winning new ground: Ncuti Gatwa’s creation of Eric Effiong in Netflix’s Sex Education went soaring around the world. The character of the gay sidekick is meant to stay in the shadows. Not Eric! He strutted in, stole the spotlight, and I think a gracious, awestruck cast simply stood back and allowed him the room.
I’d watched him onscreen, and thought I had the measure of him, until he walked into the room for Doctor Who audition. Bang! Thunderbolt. And bear in mind, for U.K. TV, the part of the Doctor is the Crown Jewels, it’s history, it’s tradition, it’s … Oh, sod that, I said, and threw it at him.
He’s conquered the world. Now all of time and space is his.
Davies is a writer, producer, and the returning showrunner of Doctor Who
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