Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker is WhatsApping replacement Ncuti Gatwa 'loads'

You could fill a TARDIS with the things which famously ebullient Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker thinks are "brilliant." But, when EW recently caught up with the actress in London, Whittaker was particularly excited about the choice of Ncuti Gatwa as her replacement on the time travel show. Gatwa was cast by Russell T. Davies, who successfully revived Doctor Who in 2005 and is now returning to replace the current showrunner Chris Chibnall. Whittaker's version of the Doctor will "regenerate" into Gatwa's iteration at the end of the feature-length Doctor Who adventure "The Power of the Doctor," which premieres Oct. 23 on BBC America.

"I just think it's the most exciting casting," Whittaker said of Gatwa, whose credits include the TV show Sex Education and the upcoming Barbie movie. "For us to finish, and the baton going not only to Russell but to him, what a thing for us. Because no matter where this goes, he's going to bring on such a huge fandom that won't have seen Doctor Who. So they'll potentially look back at the history and it'll be us, and we're a part of that now, and part of the canon, which is really exciting."

Executive producer Davies called Whittaker to tell her about the casting of Gatwa shortly before the news was announced in May.

"I was waddling around, because I was very pregnant, and my phone rang, and it was Russell," says Whittaker. "He was like, 'Hello, darling, so, I've got some news.' I was like, 'Oh my god!' So, immediately, I was like, please can I have [Ncuti's] number? He was like, 'Of course you can.' I think I then rang him about ten times, but because he's the busiest actor in the land, he was on the set of something else. He was really sweet and texted and said, 'I'll ring you as soon as I wrap.' I ended up speaking to him, and he's so lovely, and now unfortunately gets loads of Whattsaps from me."

The cast of "The Power of the Doctor" also includes Mandip Gill, John Bishop, Sacha Dhawan, Sophie Aldred, and Janet Fielding.

Watch the trailer for "The Power of the Doctor" below.

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