Potential Departures Loom for Doctor Who and Ncuti Gatwa Due to Declining Ratings and Fan Backlash Against Progressive Themes.

Doctor Who is reportedly facing the axe, while lead actor Ncuti Gatwa is thought to  be on the verge of quitting.

The long-running sci-fi show has suffered a huge drop in ratings of late, with fans said to be fed up of the injection of woke storylines. 

The actor from Scotland, who is 32 years old, joined the show in 2023 following Jodie Whittaker’s departure as the Time Lord. However, there are speculations that he might leave the BBC series after just two seasons.

According to reports, a decision of the show’s future will only be decided by bosses once Ncuti’s second series hits screens later this year.

Reports suggest that Ncuti has already filmed his regeneration exit scene. Crew members are purportedly concerned that this could potentially mark the end of the show, which has been on the air for an impressive 62 years.

According to a source cited by The Sun, “Ncuti doesn’t want to be tied to the series beyond this and plans to relocate to Los Angeles with several Hollywood projects awaiting him.”

Doctor Who is reportedly facing the axe, while lead actor Ncuti Gatwa is thought to be on the verge of quitting

The Scottish actor, 32, joined the show in 2023 after Jodie Whittaker bowed out as the Time Lord, but it’s rumoured that he’s set to walk away from the BBC show after just two seasons

‘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 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.’

The insider added that people had warned that the episodes were becoming ‘too caught up on an agenda’ rather than focusing ‘telling a story’, with those people apparently being ‘shouted down’ and ‘ignored.’

MailOnline have contacted representatives of BBC and Ncuti for comment. 

According to the publication, Ncuti’s first series attracted between ‘2.25million and 3.18million viewers’, much less than previous series’. 

Ncuti was the first black actor to take on the leading role as The Doctor, after Jodie made history as the first permanent female Time Lord in 2017. 

He became a household name when he starred as gay teenager Eric Effiong in the Netflix comedy-drama series Sex Education. 

Doctor Who has been produced by the BBC since 1963 and when it was first released, was intended to be a regular weekly programme aired on Saturday evenings.

It originally ran for 26 seasons from November 23, 1963 to December 6, 1989, it was intended to be an educational show for family viewing to teach its younger audience about history as the Doctor travelled through time with its companions, a history and science teacher.

The long-running sci-fi show has suffered a huge drop in ratings of late, with fans said to be fed up of the injection of woke storylines [Ncuti pictured with co-star  Millie Gibson]

It is said that Ncuti has already filmed his regeneration exit scene, with crews allegedly fearing that this could spell the end of the series after a whopping 62 years [Ncuti pictured in 2023] 

Back in October, it was said that the future of Doctor Who was in doubt and questions had been raised about whether Ncuti Gatwa will return for a third series.

The future of the hit sci-fi show may not be so secure after it was revealed that there will be a gap of at least two years following the second outing of the star as the titular character next year.

The extended wait may mean the Scottish actor might not return at all according to The Mirror.

Insiders have told the publication that eyebrows were raised about the show after a mysterious edit was made to Graham Norton’s BBC One chat show.

During the latest episode, The Sex Education actor revealed he would be filming the third series of Doctor Who next year. 

But the comment was edited out when the episode of the chat show was aired.

It comes after Doctor Who producer Russell T Davies previously said ‘no decision’ had been made yet for the line-up of series three in July.

Appearing at Comic Con in San Diego alongside Ncuti and Millie Gibson, the screenwriter spoke about what was in store for the science fiction show.

Russell, 61, admitted decisions about who would star in series three haven’t been made yet as they are still in the middle of filming the second season at the time.

The screenwriter said: ‘We’ve shot season two, but that’s only halfway through. We’ve got all those months of post to come. It’s a long way off, so no decisions yet.’

Ncuti said playing the Doctor is ‘surreal’ and when the host joked he had signed up for the next 10 seasons, he replied: ‘Of course!’.

Meanwhile, Millie, 20, who plays Ruby Sunday, will reportedly only make a fleeting appearance in the next series – despite joining Ncuti and Russell at Comic Con.

She will be replaced by Varada Sethu, 32, who has been pictured filming with Ncuti.

Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies previously confirmed that Millie’s character had simply been put on hold for now but she would return to the show before long.

He explained: ‘This is a pause. I genuinely felt Ruby’s story paused there. She couldn’t get all that information about her family, all that emotional overload, and run off in the TARDIS. It pauses there. She’s coming back.’

In the meantime Millie has been pursing other ventures as she stars in the new reimagining of The Forsyte Saga.

It comes after the show’s future was questioned, despite filming for the fifteenth series already starting, after the fourteenth failed to attract viewers and resulted in ‘underwhelming’ ratings.

An ambitious deal with Disney – rumoured to be worth $100million – meant each episode is aired on BBC iPlayer at midnight on Fridays to appease US viewers before being broadcast on its traditional Saturday teatime slot on terrestrial television.

It meant a slump in viewers overall despite the BBC contract with the American media giant intended to revitalise the show with lavish special effects and Davies, 61, stated the deal would finally put the show, ‘Up there with your Star Wars, your Marvel stuff’.

Instead, the final episode attracted only 2.02million viewers – a sharp drop from Jodie Whittaker’s final outing as the first female Doctor, which was watched by 3.7million in real time.

A BBC spokesperson told MailOnline at the time: ‘Overnight ratings no longer provide an accurate picture of all those who watch drama in an on demand world, this season of Doctor Who premiered on iPlayer nearly 24 hours before broadcast, and episode one has already been viewed by over 6 million viewers and continues to grow.’

‘Doctor Who remains one of the most watched programmes on iPlayer and is the BBC’s top drama for under 35’s this year making it one of the biggest programmes for the demographic across all streamers and broadcasters’.

Doctor Who? All the actors who have played the Time Lord

The BBC’s hit Sci-fi show Doctor Who was first launched by the BBC in 1963. It chronicles the journey of a Time Lord called ‘The Doctor’.

He is first introduced after fleeing his home planet, Gallifrey.

The Doctor travels through time and space in his spaceship, called a TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space), which resembles a police box.

During his travels, The Doctor meets people and invites them to voyage with him. They are known as his companions. 

He also encounters several evil beings, such as Daleks and Cyberman, and is forced to defeat them sing minimal resources, such as his Sonic Screwdriver, as they try to destroy or take over other planets, including Earth.

As a Time Lord, The Doctor has the capacity to regenerate when he is wounded or dying. After regenerating, he takes on a new appearance and personality.

The concept of regenerating was added into the series after the First Doctor, William Hartnell, became ill and stepped down from his role. 

The first run of Doctor Who ended in 1989 before being revived in 2005 with Christopher Ecclestone as the Ninth Doctor. 

Below is the full list of the actors who have been cast as the Doctor from 1963 to 2017 – when Jodie Whittaker took over the coveted role.

Starting the legacy: The First Doctor William Hartnell (1963-1966)

Second and Third: Patrick Troughton (1966–1969) and Jon Pertwee (1970–1974)

Fourth and Fifth: Tom Baker (1974–1981) and Peter Davison (1981–1984)

Sixth and Seventh: Colin Baker (1984–1986) and Sylvester McCoy (1987–1989, 1996)

Eighth and Ninth: Paul McGann (1996) and Christopher Eccleston (2005)

Tenth and Eleventh: David Tennant (2005-2010) and Matt Smith (2010-2013)

Twelfth: Peter Capaldi (2013 – 2017)