Doctor Who producer Jane Tranter recently opened up about the casting of Ncuti Gatwa and Jodie Whittaker as the fifteenth and the thirteenth Doctors in the show, respectively. Although the two stars’ runs on the show have ended, their casting had previously led to mixed responses from fans. The British TV show is considered to be a science fiction classic, and it is one of the longest-running series on television.
Jane Tranter explains Jodie Whittaker and Ncuti Gatwa’s controversial casting in Doctor Who
Jane Tranter, known for producing Doctor Who, recently sat down with InTouch Magazine and shared her views on the casting of Ncuti Gatwa and Jodie Whittaker.
Tranter, who worked with showrunner Russell T Davies on the show, labeled the casting of the two actors “normal” and stated, “I like the fact Doctor Who can touch on sensitive issues and do it in an entertaining and engaging way, but that’s how Russell T Davies writes. I also don’t see the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the first female Doctor or casting Ncuti Gatwa as the first Black Doctor as some bold step in the culture wars. It’s simply as it should be.”
Gatwa was a part of the show from 2023 to 2025. When speaking about why he left the show in July 2025, Gatwa revealed that he was “getting old,” adding that his “body was tired.” Whittaker left the show in 2022, reportedly due to her wanting to spend more time with her family.
Due to Doctor Who being criticized for allegedly making creative decisions due to “wokeness” in the past few years, showrunner Davies has also slammed critics who have called out the casting choices. In a conversation with BBC Radio 2, he asserted, “Someone always brings up matters of diversity. And there are online warriors accusing us of diversity and wokeness and involving messages and issues. And I have no time for this. I don’t have a second to bear [it]. Because what you might call diversity, I just call an open door.” (via BBC News)
