13 facts about Doctor Who’s Ncuti Gatwa you probably didn’t know

Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa has become a household name now that he’s stepped into the Tardis full time, but there are some facts that fans may not know about him.

Gatwa first appeared on screens in the long-running BBC sci-fi series as the fifteenth (if you count David Tennant twice) Doctor in last year’s anniversary special “The Giggle”, before his first full episode aired on Christmas Day. 

The first Black and queer actor to play the Doctor on the main series, Gatwa revealed that race will be “addressed” in a “really interesting way” in upcoming episodes.

The actor has used his platform to speak in support of the LGBTQ+ community and has previously accused the UK government of using trans people as a scapegoat for its “own ineptitude”.

But despite living much of his life in the public eye, there are some things about Gatwa that aren’t as well-known.

For starters, his full name is Mizero Ncuti Gatwa. “Mizero” means hope, and the star told the Big Issue that “hope is what saves us”. 

Another fact some may not know is that before landing his role in Sex Education, Gatwa was homeless and spent five months sofa-surfing. He was raised in Kigali, Rwanda, but his family fled to Scotland to escape the Rwandan genocide. 

Gatwa was raised a Christian but has said he “fell out of love” with the religion. To “fill the gap”, he turned to astrology. Being born in October makes him a Libra. 

A man of many talents, Gatwa previously worked as a go-go dancer at an LGBTQ+ club, received an honorary doctorate from his acting school in Scotland, and while prepping for his Doctor Who audition, binged the entire 2005 reboot series. 

In his twenties, Gatwa, who publicly came out as queer in 2023, was attacked by three men while walking home from a nightclub. 

His sonic screwdriver is inscribed with a Rwandan proverb which is translated into Gallifreyan symbols, and before being cast as a Ken in the Barbie movie he auditioned for a different role in the hit film.

The queer actor is set to star in The Importance of Being Earnest at the National Theatre from November. 

“Boom”, the third episode of the new series of Doctor Who airs on BBC1 on Saturday (18 May) from 6.50pm. It will also be available on BBC iPlayer, and Disney+ in the US.