However, Gatwa has now revealed his biggest regret from his time on Doctor Who – and for anyone who’s listened to interviews with the star over the past few years, it may not come as a surprise.
When asked about his one regret on The One Show, he said: “I never got to fight a Dalek. A Dalek or a Cyberman. I mean, just the crux of Doctor Who. So, might do that! Might go fight a Dalek!”
Early in 2024, Gatwa said that he would be “so angry” if he never got to face the Daleks, adding: “What on earth would be the point of me being Doctor Who without facing a Dalek!”
He is one of only two Doctors not to have faced off against them on screen, along with Paul McGannwho has battled them many times in audio dramas.
Both have, however, appeared in TV episodes featuring them in some form, with McGann making a cameo appearance in The Power of the Doctor, and a Dalek appearing briefly in The Reality War, although not in a scene with Gatwa.
There is, of course, still a chance we could see Gatwa face off against a Dalek or a Cyberman in the future. While he has been very clear that his time on the show is finished, when asked if he could make a return at some point as many Doctors have over the years, he simply replied: “Never say never.”
Gatwa was appearing on The One Show to promote his new West End play Born with Teethabout William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. Gatwa, who plays Marlowe, said that it focuses on “two male artists of a similar age”, so there is “a lot of jealousy, a lot of tension in that room, thus the play”.
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