Doctor Who spoilers follow.
Ncuti Gatwa has revealed that he has filmed a scene with classic Doctor Who star William Hartnell.
The BBC One show has a wibbly wobbly, timey wimey tradition of The Doctor showing up at unusual points in history, but the idea of a William Hartnell appearance is quite astounding since he died in 1975.
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Nevertheless, Gatwa has told The Mirror that he has indeed filmed an upcoming scene that will actually feature Hartnell as The First Doctor.
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"It has been a crazy year. I shouldn’t say this but I shot a scene, somehow, with the first-ever Doctor, William Hartnell," the actor said. "We end up in the same scene together at some point.
"To see that history – now a Black man as the Doctor! It was just very wild."
It seems probable Doctor Who will make use of archival footage from one of Hartnell's serials or even use artificial intelligence – but any appearance from Hartnell will be especially poignant as part of the show's 60th anniversary.
The First Doctor has been featured a few times on-screen after Hartnell's death, but he was always played by another actor in those appearances.
Richard Hurndall played the character in 1983's 20th anniversary special 'The Five Doctors', before David Bradley took over the role for Mark Gatiss's film An Adventure in Space and Time as well as the Peter Capaldi era stories 'The Doctor Falls' and 'Twice Upon a Time'.
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Before Gatwa takes over the TARDIS, David Tennant returns as the Fourteenth Doctor alongside former co-star Catherine Tate for three 60th anniversary specials.
Tennant starred in a minisode during BBC Children in Need on Friday (November 18) that had a crossover with classic serial 'Genesis of the Daleks' and even featured an iconic villain cameo.
Doctor Who returns for three 60th anniversary specials, beginning with 'The Star Beast' on November 25. The show airs on BBC One in the UK and Disney+ elsewhere.
Classic episodes of Doctor Who are now made available via BBC iPlayer in the UK as well.
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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
