The new Doctor Who is here and we’re just at the very tip of the surface of his reign.

Ahead of the 15th series, the first Christmas special for the long-running show since 2017, “The Church on Ruby Road,” tees up Ncuti Gatwa’s groundbreaking role as the 15th doctor and Millie Gibson as his companion, Ruby Sunday. It also has appearances from David Tennant’s 14th doctor and Catherine Tate as Donna Noble. As Disney+ described the special in its logline, “Long ago on Christmas Eve, a baby was abandoned in the snow. Today, Ruby Sunday meets the Doctor, stolen babies, goblins and perhaps the secret of her birth.”

The special gave way to more background and adventure with Gatwa’s iteration of The Doctor, and as the first Black and openly queer Time Lord, it is something that Gatwa hasn’t quite reconciled with himself.

“It was…and still is…a concept that I couldn’t quite….I’m still wrapping my head around,” the actor told Blavity’s Shadow and Act in a recent interview. “If I’m honest with you, I’m so aware of the weight of the show and how in its legacy in the world, but in the UK specifically, it’s such a like a piece of our furniture in our home. And so, mentally, I was thinking about that a lot and also, I’m the first Black doctor…so I was constantly, constantly, constantly thinking about how I was going to be. I was constantly in a battle in my mind of thinking about how I was going to be received and then trying to quell that and be like, ‘That is not my problem.’ What my problem is, is to do my job, and to do my job to the best of my abilities because it’s my abilities that got me the job.”

Unlike other transitions between Time Lords, the 15th doctor was not a typical regeneration for the character, and it is one of several welcome differences, according to Gatwa.

As he explained, “I think this was just a great moment to introduce this new piece of mythology that Russell has added to like the Time Lord’s history, because it is the 60th anniversary [and] it’s like a time for looking towards the past of the show and everything that the show has been, but also to the future and everything that the show could be and everything that the show is progressing to be. And it’s a perfect time to pop in a couple of little changes and a couple of little additions and spruce up the place a little bit. It works logistically Russell really wanted David [Tennant] and Catherine [Tate] back for the specials. Also, I was busy doing another project and we needed a bit of time and we needed to figure things out. So it was a really handy piece of mythology as well that Russell has added in, But Russell’s bringing in a slightly mythological element into this new era and a slightly more like fantasy/fairytale element to this era, as well as sci-fi.”

Fans have also already noticed the different vibe of the 15th doctor, and even from what was gathered prior the special, there is this fun vibe and fans have saw him dancing and such.

Speaking to this doctor’s personality, as well as things that may surprise folks about this iteration, Gatwa said, “The Time Lords have two hearts…their capacity to feel is endless, and I think that’s always been something that I’ve thought of the doctor. This character has a time machine, and is also lonely, and also like travels through all of time and space on their own a lot of the time. Like..they feel so much, and that aspect of them having traveled and having a time machine makes me just think that there must be such a curiosity of life, such a respect of life and such an appreciation of life. And so for my doctor, he’s just like eating it up. He eats it up..the rage, he eats it up, the pain, he eats it up. He feels thins to like 125 degress. So that’s an element I really wanted to bring into the doctor also, and I’d say he slightly uses humor to hide is pain, and also he just likes humor. But also, he’s slightly more emotional than we’ve seen doctors before. Some things really move him and some things really upset him.”

“The Church on Ruby Road,” is now streaming on Disney+, and the 15th series of Doctor Who premieres in May 2024.

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