Say what you will about the British tabloids but they've always been pretty on point when it comes to Doctor Who gossip. Today, The Sun has run a story claiming that Ncuti Gatwa is indeed moving on from the series after the upcoming second season airs.
The trades mentioned that as a possibility last year and according to the site's sources, "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 see a lot of fan backlash from the series, and don’t want the perception of him still being The Doctor to get in the way of any future work," the insider alleges. "The show has been poorly managed in recent years and there’s a lot of people who’ve been working on this show for years and now being cast aside due to poor leadership."
Showrunner Russell T. Davies' Doctor Who return has been widely criticised, and this same person points to what many have deemed "woke" storylines for much of the backlash.
"People warned some episodes were getting too caught up on an agenda rather than telling a story and those people got shouted down, ignored," they explain, likely referring to episodes featuring a woman who saved the world because she was trans, a Drag Queen villain, and a gay romance involving the Doctor.
There's nothing wrong with any of those but the prevailing argument online is that almost every episode had a heavy-handed message...which has proven to be a turn-off for some.
The report goes so far as to claim that the BBC is planning to shelve Doctor Who for at least the next five years. That's not a huge surprise after previous reports about Disney's plan to pull the plug on its deal with the broadcaster after it's proven to be considerably less popular on Disney+ than expected.
For what it's worth, a BBC spokesperson has told The Mirror, "This story is incorrect, 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. And as for the rest, we never comment on the Doctor and future storylines."
Between this and the aforementioned reports from the Hollywood trades, it very much sounds like Doctor Who's future is in doubt. The widely touted deal with Disney+ was meant to be a fresh start for the show, with Davies' return seen as a righting of the ship after Chris Chibnall's divisive stint in charge.
Low viewership and so-so reviews may be a sign that Doctor Who being put back on the shelf for a while might be beneficial for a franchise which, in recent years, has seen interest decrease significantly.
Stay tuned for updates as we have them.