Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa ‘set to quit’ after fan backlash

Rating have dropped this series

The 32-year-old took over the coveted role of the Doctor from Jodie Whittaker in 2023 but reports suggest he wants to move to the States, where he's being eyed up for other projects.

Gatwa plans to walk away from the Tardis at the end of the upcoming 15th series after fans were left divided over recent storylines, sources claimed.

An insider told The Sun: "Ncuti doesn’t want to be tied to the series beyond this and plans to relocate to Los Angeles with several Hollywood projects standing by for him.

"His team also sees a lot of fan backlash from the series and doesn’t want the perception of him still being The Doctor to get in the way of any future work."

The source claimed the series had become poorly managed with longstanding staff feeling 'cast aside due to poor leadership'.

The Sun also reported that the whole series could be cancelled by the broadcaster after viewer ratings dropped to 3.5 million.

However, a BBC spokesperson denied this, telling The Standard such rumours are “incorrect”.

They said: "Doctor Who has not been shelved. As we have previously stated, the decision on season 3 will be made after season 2 airs. The deal with Disney+ was for 26 episodes – and exactly half of those still have to transmit.

"As for the rest, we never comment on the Doctor and future storylines."

Doctor Who first aired in the 1960s and was cancelled in the late 1980s. It was revived in 2005 with Christopher Ecclestone as the ninth Doctor.

He was succeeded by David Tennant who welcomed Billie Piper as his lovable companion Rose.

Ratings soared with an estimated audience of 13 million. Showrunner Russell T Davies was praised for his engaging storylines.