Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson chat aboutDoctor WhoSeason 15 , including their favorite costume , which former Doctor institutionalise Ncuti the cherubic TV message , and more !
Doctor Whohas been a globally belovedsci - fi showsince 1963 . At the end of theDoctor Who60th Anniversary Specials , Ncuti Gatwamade his introduction as the Fifteenth Doctor . Then , the Christmas special " The Church on Ruby Road " introduced his raw comrade , Ruby Sunday , played by Millie Gibson .
To lionise the release ofDoctor WhoSeason 15 — and the show ’s move toDisney+ — Ncuti and Millie sat down with BuzzFeed to babble out about bringing their first season to living . They shine on their wizard first chemistry read , how they avail influence their character ' wardrobe , their weirdest experiences on set , and so much more !
Here ’s everything we speak about :
🚨Spoilers ahead for Season 15 ofDoctor Who!🚨
1. First, Ruby and the Doctor’s strong friendship is one of the highlights of the show. How did you work to build that chemistry behind the scenes? Or did it come naturally?
Ncuti Gatwa : It [ was n’t ] that severely , honestly .
Millie Gibson : Naturally , yeah . I mean , to be good , that ’s why we do chemistry reads . As soon as I kind of walked in , it was like , Is this gon na work ? Or is it not?And I left and I was like , Wow , we had great chemistry!And then thought , Yeah , but Ncuti ’s such a charismatic guy . Did that happen with everyone he spoke to?And yeah , it did n’t , thank god . So I ’m really beaming that it was a natural variety of journey from there . But yeah , I think our kinship is so standardized to Ruby and the Doctor anyway , it ’s kind of grow even more so .
NG : I would agree with all of that . I just , yeah , it was there from the offset . It seems like for me , it was Millie walking into the room and Millie ’s interpretation of the fictional character was such , like , [ a ] final while in the jigsaw in term of characterizing the Doctor . I knew , like , the direction in which I want to take the vigor of the TARDIS . And so that help with the chemistry , ‘cause it was like , " Ah , this is what we ’re looking for ! "
atomic number 12 : Because every Doctor of the Church and companion have such a , like , kind of tennis ball mate . It ’s like , " What ’s ours gon na be like ? " And it was there direct away . It avail me . [ to Ncuti ] It helped me get the part , dearest . I ’m happy you were there !
2. Music is a central theme of several episodes. On the show, you both sing, dance, and play the piano, so I’m curious if any of that was part of the audition process and, if so, what that was like.
magnesium : NO !
NG : ABSOLUTELY NOT !
MG : It coulda been , could n’t it have , Kristen ?
NG : Ah ! I would ’ve loved to have known that was part of it . That was what we were gon na be doing !
milligram : They [ were ] dead not . Can you dance ? Can you sing ? Can you go on wires ? Are you scared of altitude ?
NG : Not even ! They did n’t even take !
milligram : No , I ’m saying , they should ’ve .
NG : That ’s what would ’ve been cool .
MG : Yeah , there were so many element . I was like , " think if I had , like , this deathly reverence of heights . "
NG : Could you guess ?
MG : And they were like , " So , we ’re gon na put you onto the wires . "
NG : " And we ’re just gon na hoist you up this Stephen Crane , up you go . " Or telling , for good example … I kept recollect , " Oh , oh , we ’re gon na go to a studio . Auto - Tune will be our friend . Like , this has beget [ to be]fine , this is gon na — "
MG : Trygve Halvden Lie !
NG : None of that !
magnesium : Lies !
NG : We turned up on curing . They said , " Here ’s a mic … And off you go . " We were like , " Ah … "
MG : " Ah . " Yeah , and even , like , the demonstration . I mean , we had an incredible choreographer called Jack Murphy , which by all odds helps us , but even that , like , I do n’t dance ! I strain ! But not for , not for the world !
NG : Not for the world to see ! So this was , it was really a plot of sink or swim .
MG : You decide if we … [both originate express joy ] .
I cogitate it turn out great !
NG : We ’ll leave that decision to you !
3. Ncuti, one thing that sets your Doctor apart is that, unlike past regenerations, he’s got a different outfit, like, every episode. And Millie, Ruby has also taken full advantage of that giant wardrobe in the TARDIS. So, I’m curious how involved either of you have been with curating or influencing your characters’ wardrobe?
NG : It ’s definitely been a real collaborative exploit with our incredible costume intriguer , Pam Downe , who is just like — she was just amazing and so forrader - thinking , and , like , I really feel has helped put this epoch of the show on the map . Do you know what I signify ? I intend , those costume have been so iconic , and so unbelievable . And we ’ve not seen a Doctor change like that before or , like , embrace each time period that he ’s traveling to as much as we ’re doing now . So Pam is just incredible . And she ’ll arrive , and she ’ll chat to us for ages about what we ’re cerebrate about each instalment , what management we require to go , and how we ’re feeling emotionally in each episode . Because , evidently , the clothes , with what we ’re doing much , sometimes , we ’ve scram to be really practical . Like , your costume has to be really practical to where you are and you have to intermix in .
magnesium : Yes , with the wires for some of our costume .
NG : It ’s a really great , collaborative effort with Pam Downe .
atomic number 12 : I think of we really wanted to find , like , a pattern for Ruby and a jacket as well . I feel like a companion ’s jacket is very much an iconic thing . And yeah , they cleverly , like , crafted this incredible leather jacket with fur around it . And it was just so , like , as soon as I put it on , I was like , " Oh my God , I ’m Ruby ! " And it ’s so cool how costume just lay down you feel like a character , as well as makeup . But yeah , I just , I remember she wanted me in checkers — checkered pattern — and so I ’m in that quite a lot . To me , that just , like , account Ruby — quirky , fiesty , nerveless . I got to pick my colors for the ' 60s episode . She was like , " What color do you want ? " And I croak , " Green ! " And she extend , " No , you ca n’t have that one ‘cause green screen are all around . " I was like , " Fine . " And so , I was like , " Black and white ? " And then , she was like , " utterly . "
Have you had , like , a favorite getup that you got to wear this season ?
NG & MG : Regency !
NG : Felt so hot !
MG : I was in my own world in Regency . I conceive I just went off on a wander in these beautiful localization . We were shoot in three different manor house , and every single one of them , I just decease off like I was in my own little princess adventure in this attire ! And all the runners were like , " Where — can the great unwashed keep tabs on Millie ? " vagabond off attempt to find , like , anaestheticthing , like I was in my own trivial photographic film . Yeah , definitely Regency .
NG : It felt like the most we ’ve step into a world that is completely different from anything . Do you know what I signify ? Because it was the ' LX , like , we ’ve still pose our parents and grandparents that , you know , we sleep together the music of that time . It ’s not like we ’re listening to eighteenth - hundred bops now .
MG : Oh , I see what you signify !
NG : Do you do it what I think of ? Whereas , you heed to the Beatles now .
magnesium : And there were loads of duplicate in the outfits as well ! I was like , " I live here ! This is my home ! "
NG : It really ship us .
MG : And it was getting to summertime as well . It was just the ripe installment .
NG : It was such a fun installment .
MG : So much playfulness .
4. So, the sonic screwdriver has a proverb on it in Gallifreyan, so are there any otherEastereggs, like, in the TARDIS or anywhere else that fans should look out for?
MG : Yeah , definitely .
NG : Oh , you ’ll have to just check and see , Kristen ! You ’ve mother to check the whole serial publication and see .
MG : I did a flat tour , and every time I was in Ruby ’s flat —
NG : I see that .
MG : Did you watch it ?
NG : I take in it . I had to approve it for some rationality .
MG : I do n’t get to sanction ! Why did you ?
NG : [ laughing ] I know , sorry .
MG : Imagine if you go , " Absolutely not ! "
NG : I was like , " Why am I having to approve this ? " I sleep with . But you were so funny in it . " This is all that ’s left of her — a feeding bottle . " Brilliant ! Sorry , go in .
magnesium : Every time I was showing the behind the scenes around Ruby ’s apartment , they kept telling me what Easter egg were in there , but they never actually told me what they were for . So ca n’t aid you too much there . But there ’s definitely Easter nut !
NG : What ?
atomic number 12 : I was doing a big matte tour of Ruby ’s house . And behind the tantrum maintain live , " By the way " to point out that that ’s an Easter egg . And I was like , " Okay . " And they actually did n’t tell me why , which would ’ve helped in this motion , Kristen . So sorry .
NG : So we have no idea . They wish to keep thing from us ‘cause they know that we ’ve bugger off fully grown mouths . We ’ll just pour forth all the secrets , so they keep things hidden from us .
MG : They go , " Do n’t differentiate Millie and Ncuti . "
NG : " Do n’t tell Millie and Ncuti , whatever you do . "
5. In your portrayal of the Doctor and Ruby, have you drawn inspiration from any of the previous Doctors and companions?
milligram : For me , no . I intend , the companion has to have a certain vim about us . So definitely , the vim I ’d say , but I consider I wanted Ruby to be — and I intend Russell [ T. Davies , the showrunner ] desire — Ruby to be a completely different vibe , peculiarly for our geezerhood as well . They ’ve never done a companion — well , one of the fellow this young before .
NG : I would say yes and no . It ’s a difficult question to answer . Yes . ‘Cause you ’re playing the same , you ’re carry on — there ’s a flight . There ’s a throughline that you ’re receive to carry on . And so , you do see at each physician , and you kind of have to figure out the puzzle / formula of , like , they are all so different , but there is something inexplicably " the Doctor " about all of them … So you check just to kind of gain that understanding .
MG : Yeah , it ’s like they keep an eye on with one emotion for each one of them . Like , I always think Matt Smith ’s quite helter-skelter , Peter Capaldi ’s quite serious . Like , one emotion they cohere onto , and then it ’s like …
NG : But like , in the mold , of , like , this character . That ’s like … but they ’re me .
MG : How did you play ? It must ’ve been so punishing .
NG : I do n’t know ! I do n’t know ! It ’s just , I really , really …
milligram : I would n’t know where to start , darling !
NG : God ! But yes , by all odds inspired by anterior Doctors . Just tried to bring my own thing in now . Whether it ’s working or not , we do n’t cognize !
MG : Yes , it is ! Yes , it is !
6. After your casting was announced, did any of the previousDoctor Whoalumni reach out to you?
NG : Yeah ! Oh my God , yeah . Oh my God , it was so lovely . David [ Tennant ] , Matt [ Smith ] , Peter [ Capaldi ] , Sylvester McCoy .
milligram : Oh , that ’s so sugared !
NG : Oh my God , it was so sweet . Filmed this whole thing with , like , the fan break down off above him —
MG : Awww ! AWWW ! AWWW ! You ’ve bring to show me that !
NG : And [ Sylvester ’s ] like , " You ’re gon na face the Weeping Angels . You ’re gon na face the Daleks , the Cybermen , but most of all , the critic . " inwardness . Broken . I was like , " This gentleman is precious , precious , cute , valued . " And the first Scottish Doctor as well ! And how lovely ! From the first Scottish Doctor to now the current Doctor . See , and that ’s how you know that Scottish Doctors are the best .
atomic number 12 : Well , Jodie [ Whittaker ] message me . I was in the car , and it was like , " [ The message ] Love , Jodie . " I was like , " Who ’s Jodie ? " And then , I was like , " Oh my God ! " And Madip [ Gill ] messaged me , which was lovely , passing the baton … I slip into Karen Gillan ’s diabetes mellitus because I ’m just obsessed with her , as we all love . And she respond , bless her heart , and she was so , so lovely .
7. You’ve also worked with a lot of amazing guest stars this season. Do you have any standout moments or memories from working with them?
NG : Oh , my God , we lost our minds form with Jinkx Monsoon . She just , from the get - go , our jaw on the floor in terms of her talent .
milligram : We watched the ' 60s episode recently , at a premiere recently , and honestly , I — mind - blowing .
NG : Her execution is unbelievable .
atomic number 12 : She ’s terrific , but so —
NG : Delicious !
MG : Delicious ! I love delicious ! Literally makes so much sensation .
NG : No , but like , she … you love — you get laid to hate her [ character ] !
magnesium : You ’re root for her ! I was kind of watching it , like , " Oh , please do n’t win , but … "
NG : I know ! I experience !
milligram : have her have her moment !
NG : She ’s one of those baddies that you ’re , like , " I want to see what you will do . Like , what will you do ? " And [ she ’s ] one of the bang-up monstrosity — greatest villain — that the Doctor ’s faced , like , the amount of power she has .
MG : Yeah , she played that delicious .
NG : So , Jinkx was like , I imply , [ to Millie ] you know this because you ’re a bigDrag Racefan anyway .
MG : I died that day , honestly . I have a go at it , I loveDrag Race . That was my matter when I was younger . I was like , " Jinkx Monsoon is the funniest drag queen ever . " Anyway , years later on , Russell ’s like , " Guess who we ’re think about for my show ? " I was like , " Oh yeah , who ? " He went , " Jinkx Monsoon . " I was like , " Are you absolutely kidding me ? "
NG : So talented !
MG : So talented !
NG : There ’s not much she ca n’t do .
MG : We were filming another episode , and I was like , " Ncuti , look on ! observe her best second ! " I was just so excited to mould with her , but she was hilarious .
NG : AndJonathan Groffas well . Jonathan is such a talented , talented , talented human . Kindest soul . The studio apartment wept when he left . Like , we were heartbroken . There was a hole — there was a void ! There was a hole on set when he depart . Great , great , neat guy . So talented .
8. Do you have any dream guest stars for the future?
atomic number 12 : Oh my God , so many .
NG : Oh my God , yeah .
milligram : Where to lead off , Kristen ?
NG : Where to begin ?
MG : For me , Jodie Comer .
NG : Gillian Anderson .
magnesium : Gillian Anderson ! Another delicious villain .
NG : Can you think ? Delicious . Jodie Turner Smith .
milligram : Oh , yeah .
NG : Ahhh , delicious .
MG : Delicious . Mads Mikkelsen — eye candy . What else ?
NG : Who else ? Whoo ellllllllseeee ? [ referencing a Vogue magazine pass over seeable on the bookshelf behind me ] Harry Styles .
MG : [ cite a plushie also visible behind me ] Kermit the Frog !
NG : Kermit the Frog ! All the greats .
9. This season, Russell T. Davies returned as showrunner, and he brings with him so muchDoctor Whoknowledge and callbacks. While preparing for your roles, did you watch previous episodes or seasons? Or even, did you dive into the comics, audio dramas, and more?
NG : The Whoniverse is dead massive and grand , so there ’s no manner of covering it all . In prepping for , like , my auditory sense , I recall trying to watch as much as , like , [ the ] new era as possible . That ’s when I fell in making love with the show . We were intimate with , like , the foundations or , like , the lore ofDoctor Whoin terms of that poppycock .
MG : Yeah , when I get under one’s skin the tryout , I just rewatched all my favorite episodes , and just to bring back kind of a passion I recollect having for it and the amount of , like , passion I had for it . And I retrieve just watching it , thinking , " Bloody hell , if I do n’t get this , I ’m never gon na be able to watch this show again . " … So thank God I got it so I can watch Matt Smith in public security .
NG : Oh honey , we ’d all wish to do that .
MG : I bonk !
NG : It does experience like … Russell ’s 2.0 earned run average … There ’s little Russell elaboration [ and ] idiosyncrasies throughout .
10. If you could bring back a character from Russell T. Davies’ original run, who would it be?
NG : Oh , I ’d like to meet my wife , River Song .
milligram : I wanna run into her ! She ’s so cool !
NG : She ’s really coolheaded , no ? And whenever she appear , there ’s always a mystery , so I would like to run into River Song .
magnesium : She ’s just so sassy . Honestly , she is gorgeous . I agree .
11. Russell also brought back his brand of “whimsical weirdness” to this series, and so, without giving too much away, what was the weirdest scene you’ve had to film or the weirdest experience you’ve had on set?
NG : Oh my God , we worked with 12 babies — real babies — on set .
MG : We can do " Space Babies " plunderer , ca n’t we ? Yeah , yes . Probably getting snot drip on my head .
NG : Oh , that was a moment . [ express joy ]
MG : That was dire .
NG : I loved that day so much !
MG : I had a support - in , and she had to test it for them , just so they catch it utterly right . So this poor girl called Emmy was just sit there like , " Ah … " She appear like , " What has my lifetime number to ? " Getting snot dripped on her head just to make indisputable it ’s perfect when I did it .
NG : [ singing ] " Hello duskiness , my old friend . "
milligram : That was mad .
NG : " Space Babies , " for certain .
MG : " Space Babies " was just an uneven tripper , was n’t it ?
NG : Such a uncivilised , wild ride . Oh my God … 12 babies ! We thought it was a gag … I was like , " There ’s no way that we ’re in reality gon na work with babies . There ’s no way . " And then … yes we were !
MG : As well as the voices of the babies that we had to act with . It was our first advertising called Dan , who obviously does n’t have a baby voice . So I was going , " Aww , Eric , " to like , you recognize , this lad run , " I have it off you , Ruby . "
NG : [ in a high - pitched voice ] " Hello , Eric . " [ in a deep voice ] " I love you , Ruby . "
MG : I was like , " Oh , I do n’t know how to act with this , really . Do n’t know what to do with it . " Yeah , very unique experience .
NG : It was a real … we make our pennies that day .
MG : We really did .
12. So another thing that I love about both of your characters is that they’re filled with so much hope and joy, especially in the face of adversity. What’s the message and meaning you hope viewers take away from the season?
MG : Positivity !
NG : Positivity .
milligram : Glass half full .
NG : Curiosity in one another , as well … At clock time , it can sometimes feel like we ’re closing ourselves off to others . Then I thinkDoctor Whois a nice show that reminds us to be curious in one another and want to cover one another and get in touch with one another . And certainly have hope and pleasure in the font of adversity because it ’s important to have .
atomic number 12 : And remember , there ’s always a pull at the end !
NG : Oooooohhh , go on , Millie ! That was a decent one ! That ’ll all make sense ! That ’ll all make sense one daylight .
13. So you’ve filmed in a lot of really interesting locations, like for the Regency episode and on Abbey Road. So I’m wondering, what’s your favorite place that you’ve filmed and a place that you hope you could film in a future episode?
NG : Oh my God , I would love to shoot in Barbados . Can you imagine ? Somewhere really hot .
MG : New York .
NG : New York !
MG : guess if we endure to New York ! That would be so cool .
NG : Yeah , that would be coolheaded . Sri Lanka .
MG : Paris .
NG : Paris .
MG : Paris in a jazz club .
NG : Brazil ! Brazil ! Rio would be awesome to take in .
MG : Yeah . Oh my God , can you imagine ?
NG : allow ’s just keep saying wherever you wanna go .
MG : Rome . I ’d love to film in Rome .
NG : Rome would be astonishing to take .
MG : And we meet , like , an Italian entire !
NG : South of France .
MG : Yeah , Confederate States of America of France !
NG : South of France . I think some thing really go down there — extraterrestrial .
MG : And you recognize what ? Costa Rica ask to be —
NG : Costa Rica needs to be save as well ! Really needs to be saved .
MG : Where else ?
NG : St. Kitts as well . I ’ve heard a flock of thing are going down there , extraterrestially . So , got ta get out there as well .
Doctor WhoSeason 15 is streaming now onDisney+and airs on BBC iPlayer in the UK.
This consultation has been edited for distance and/or clarity .
