Doctor Who's Ncuti Gatwa reveals his picks for favorite Doctors – and it’s a "toss up" between a classic and newer Doctor

Doctor Who
(Image credit: BBC)

Ahead of the launch of Doctor Who season 1, new Doctor Ncuti Gatwa has revealed his two favorite Doctors.

"My favorite Doctor [is] a toss-up between David [Tennant] and Jon Pertwee," Gatwa said at a recent Q&A attended by sister outlet SFX magazine.

Jon Pertwee portrayed the Third Doctor from 1970 through to 1974’s Planet of the Spiders, where his iteration regenerated into Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor.

Pertwee later returned in 1983’s The Five Doctors and is, perhaps, most famous for his catch-all fix of ‘reversing the polarity of the neutron flow’ – a catchphrase that has been cheekily referenced multiple times in the decades since it was first uttered.

Gatwa’s other favorite, David Tennant, was the Tenth Doctor from 2005 to 2010, taking over from Christopher Eccleston and being succeeded by Matt Smith. 

Tennant joined Smith’s Eleventh Doctor in the 50th anniversary special The Day of the Doctor and later returned as the Fourteenth Doctor, appearing in three specials and ‘bi-generating’ into Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor while also still existing in his own right, having opted to stay and live on Earth.

Doctor Who season 1 is set to debut on Disney Plus worldwide and BBC on the UK on May 10 (midnight on May 11 in the UK). Ncuti Gatwa will be joined by companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) and the new trailer teases space babies, a Bridgerton-style adventure, and a trip back to the Swinging Sixties to meet the Beatles in Abbey Road.

For more, check out the latest on the major new TV shows coming your way this year.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.