Ncuti Gatwa’s first season starring on Doctor Who was generally delightful—but there were a few weak spots even as fans grew to love the Fifteenth Doctor’s high-energy positivity and the poignant journey of companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson). Not every episode was a winner (we’re still scratching our heads over “Dot and Bubble“), and we wished there’d been more quiet moments to expand on the characters’ friendship. Still, after Christmas special “Joy to the World,” we’re eagerly awaiting Gatwa’s return—and season two just got a lot more exciting with the announcement of the new writers who’ve come aboard.
The BBC’s official Doctor Who page today shared that four new writers have joined the next season: Juno Dawson, Inua Ellams, Pete McTighe, and Sharma Angel-Walfall. It’s a wonderfully diverse group, including the first people of color and the first trans woman who’re contributing to the Fifteenth Doctor’s adventures—especially notable to point out because Gatwa is himself a queer Black man.
The site goes on to give short biographies of each writer. Dawson is a best-selling author (Her Majesty’s Royal Coven) and the creator of official scripted podcast Doctor Who: Redacted; Ellams is a poet and playwright (as well as a self-described life-long Doctor Who fan); McTighe is a returning Who scribe, having penned episodes alongside Chris Chibnall for Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor; and Angel-Walfall is an emerging talent whose previous writers’ room works includes Netflix’s Supacell, among others.
After season one—in which seven of the nine total episodes (including Christmas special “The Church on Ruby Road”) were written by showrunner Russell T Davies—that means at least four stories this time around will be written by entirely fresh voices (no offense to Steven Moffat, who returned to the show he’d once run to write one of season one’s non-Davies episodes, “Boom,” as well as the recently aired “Joy to the World”).
Speaking to the BBC, Davies sounded excited for the new blood. “Doctor Who takes its talent from a glittering galaxy of names, and these extraordinary writers span the skies,” he said. “We’ve got old hands, new stars, voices from theater, radio, and literature, the whole works! It’s the most wild and exciting season of Doctor Who yet, and I can’t wait to unleash their brilliant work.”
Gatwa and Gibson will be back, along with new companion Varada Sethu, for more Doctor Who later this year on the BBC and Disney+.
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