Ncuti Gatwa is a doctor. Officially, this time.
Over a year since his swan song as the Fifteenth incarnation of the Time Lord, the Scottish actor has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow.
Other recipients included BBC journalist Sarah Smith, and the Advocate General for Scotland, Baroness Catherine Smith. Musicians Deacon Blue and Eddi Reader also received honours.
The university said the individuals selected have had “a profound and positive impact within their professions and wider society.”
Prof Andy Schofield, the principal and vice chancellor at the university, said: “Honorary degrees give us the opportunity to recognise individuals whose achievements have had a profound and positive impact within their professions and wider society.
“Their work embodies values that continue to inspire our community. I am delighted to welcome our honorary graduates into the University of Glasgow community at such a significant milestone, and to celebrate them alongside our graduating students.”
Sharing the news on his Instagram yesterday (Friday 26 June), Gatwa wrote: “Just the most lovely day. An immense honour to receive an honorary doctorate from The University of Glasgow last week.
“I think the official title is “Doctor of the University”…a lady at the drinks ceremony afterwards said they missed a trick by not saying Doctor of the Universe and I can’t help but agree…”
He continued: “University of Glasgow. Thank you a million times over for the honour of joining the fabric of this incredible institution. I got to share the day with absolutely brilliant people, with brilliant minds and stories who do and have done brilliant things in this world, among them being my folks, which was just cherry on the cake.
“I could write FOREEEEVVVVERRRR about Glasgow. Best city in the world (even though I’m an east coast boy) and some of the best years of my life spent studying there….fun fact…The Doctor studied at Glasgow Uni..as in the actual Doctor is an alumni of University of Glasgow. Mad. Absolute madness.”
Gatwa starred as The Doctor for two seasons, alongside Millie Gibson and Varada Sethu as companions Ruby Sunday and Belinda Chandra, before exiting the series in The Reality War.
His regeneration scene saw him controversially transform into a returning Billie Piper.
Although causing great excitement at the time, it’s now incredibly likely that we may never find out why the face of former companion Rose Tyler appeared.
Earlier this month, the BBC detailed plans to put the long-running sci-fi show out to tender. This means that independent production companies will take over from incumbent Bad Wolf, with show runner Russell T Davies also deciding to step away.
The broadcast also officially cancelled the forthcoming Christmas special, which would’ve undoubtedly explained The Doctor’s unusual regeneration.
In a social media post, Davies even claimed that he’d never written the special at all. This is despite months of teasing the plot.
Taking to Instagram he wrote: “And so GOODBYE from me to Doctor Who but HELLO to a big new future for the show, as the BBC announces it’s putting the show out to tender.
“As a result, there won’t be a Christmas Special – we only cooked that up to guarantee a future when no one knew what would happen, but now we do know, there’s no need for it. You’ll have to wait a bit longer for new Doctor Who… but you’ll be waiting for MORE Doctor Who than a one-off. So it’s worth it!”
“For the record: there was no script, I never wrote it, and no actor was ever approached to play the next Doctor,” he added.
“You may disagree; fine, sit in that chair and wait to be proved right. You’ll wait a lonnng time.”
“Now I’m as excited as anyone to see what comes next! Will they keep the theme tune? Will they lose the blue box? Will they bring back the Drahvin?! It’s all up for grabs, which is so Doctor Who, exciting and unpredictable and new! Here comes the future, vworp vworp.”
Read more:
- Steven Moffat reveals how Doctor Who 50th anniversary special almost included Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor
- Doctor Who star responds to calls for her to return as the next permanent Doctor
- Peter Capaldi reveals his Doctor Who exit was due to “direction” concerns and argues there have been “too many regenerations”
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