The Doctor has finally found his new companion! Millie Gibson has officially joined the cast of Doctor Who as Ruby Sunday, the Doctor’s (Ncuti Gatwa) new human travel companion for Season 14. She will make her debut alongside Gatwa's 15th Doctor, and in anticipation of her new role in the iconic show, Gibson announced the exciting news in a public statement:
“Whilst still being in total disbelief, I am beyond honored to be cast as the Doctor’s companion. It is a gift of a role, and a dream come true, and I will do everything to try and fill the boots the fellow companions have traveled in before me. And what better way to do that than being by the fabulous Ncuti Gatwa’s side, I just can’t wait to get started.”
Best known for her role as Kellie Neelan in the British soap opera Coronation Street, 18-year-old Millie is on the path to a promising career. She was the recipient of the Best Young Performer Award at The British Soap Awards earlier this year and has also made other appearances in the dramas Butterfly, and Love, Lies, and Records.
Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies also gave a warm welcome to the actress. "Millie shines like a star already," Davies said, "She’s brilliant, dynamic, clever, and a wonderful actor. As a Coronation Street fan, I’ve seen Millie survive chases, guns, and sieges, but that’s nothing compared to what lies ahead for Ruby Sunday.”
Gatwa also wrote a statement welcoming his new co-star:
“Millie just is the companion. She is full of talent, strength, she has a cheeky sparkle in her eye and is sharp as a razor. From the moment she walked into the room she captured all of our attention with her effervescence and then solidified that attention with the sheer torque of her talent. This adventure is going to be so wild and so fun, I cannot WAIT to sail the universe with Millie!”
Last month, fans got their first glimpse of Gatwa when he appeared briefly in a trailer for the upcoming season. He then officially announced his new role as the Doctor on social media, and revealed that he will be the Fifteenth Doctor, taking over the role from David Tennant. The Rwandan-Scottish actor is best known for portraying Eric Effiong on the Netflix comedy-drama series Sex Education, which he won the BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor in Television in 2020.
Doctor Who is a British science-fiction television program that was originally broadcasted by the BBC in 1963. The show follows the adventures of an alien Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who takes the form of a human. The Doctor traverses the universe in a time-traveling spaceship called the TARDIS, which is disguised as an old British police box. Since 1963, fourteen actors have starred as the Doctor, beginning with William Hartnell. The frequent turnover of the role is a characteristic of the plot, as the Doctor goes through frequent regeneration whenever he is badly injured and will regenerate into a new form. Although each actor's portrayal is unique, each maintains and references elements of the Doctor’s previous reincarnations in order to form a single lifetime with a coherent narrative.
Doctor Who will return for a 60th anniversary special in 2023, which is set to kick off Gatwa's turn in the titular role; it will be available on BBC one in the UK and Disney+ worldwide. Meanwhile, previous seasons air on BBC America and are also available for streaming on HBO Max. Starting in 2023, Disney+ will become the global home of all things Doctor Who outside of the UK and Ireland.