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Doctor Who and Heartstopper share the same fan issue

It's not okay to make assumptions.

By David Opie

1 Nov 2022

This article was originally published on 9/5/22. Another section has been added at the bottom of the piece in light of new developments.

There is so much to love about Ncuti Gatwa's casting as the new Doctor Who. Sure, he wasn't high on the bookies' lists, but now that the announcement's out there, it seems like such an obvious choice – and we mean that in the best possible way.

As anyone who's seen Sex Education will tell you, Ncuti is a superstar, one of the UK's best, and he steals every scene he's in with both heartfelt honesty and effortless charisma. So if his performance on that show is any indication, we could be gearing up for one of the best seasons of Doctor Who in a very long time.

And that's not all. With this announcement, Gatwa has become the first Black actor to ever step into that TARDIS while taking on the lead role in Doctor Who.

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A post shared by Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho)

There have been Black Time Lords before. T'Nia Miller played one on the show briefly before breaking out in other genre projects like The Haunting of Bly Manor. And, of course, Jo Martin has played a version of the actual Doctor just recently in Chris Chibnall's run too.

Each of these moments have been pivotal in their own way, but it's impossible to measure just how much Ncuti's involvement in the show will have on people moving forward. As he said when the casting was announced, it's a "unique responsibility and privilege", one that he will give his whole heart to, and already, the fan response has been just as poignant.

In recent days, many people have spoken out about the significance of Gatwa's role, proudly celebrating our very first Black, queer Doctor Who lead... Except, Ncuti Gatwa has never publicly stated that he is queer. If anything, he seems to avoid confirming anything about his sexuality in interviews either way – yet that hasn't stopped countless fans from assuming he's queer online.

Doctor Who confirms Ncuti Gatwa is next Doctor

It's important to point out here that – for the most part – fans aren't assuming anything about Ncuti in a malicious way. In fact, most of the responses have been extremely positive in this regard, celebrating what they perceive to be our very first queer Black Doctor played by an openly queer person.

It's something many fans have yearned to see for a very long time, and in all honesty, there's a chance that they could be right. Gatwa could very well be queer, and if so, he may decide to label himself publicly one day as well. But he could just as easily be straight as well. The point is that we should never assume such things, regardless of the roles someone has played, or how eloquently they might discuss queer issues.

As we all know, Ncuti isn't really Eric, but what people sometimes forget is that Eric isn't Ncuti either. Regardless of how well Ncuti embodies the role, they are not the same person, and therefore, Ncuti is not automatically queer just because Eric is.

Samir HusseinGetty Images

Assuming a person's sexuality might not seem like a big deal to some people, especially if it's just the occasional tweet here or there. But in the long run, these kind of assumptions are rooted in outdated stereotypes that actually have the potential to harm LGBTQ+ people.

Queer people aren't a monolith, and reinforcing the idea that we are can be hurtful and – in the very worst cases – even lead to violence against the LGBTQ+ community.

At the very least, labelling others without knowing their truth can be constricting for everyone. Although labels can sometimes serve a purpose, of course, not everyone wants them, especially if they're not labels the person in question actually identifies with.

Ncuti doesn't publicly discuss his sexuality for any number of reasons that we're not aware of, so it's not our place to assume how he identifies, even with good intentions, and that's still true even if you yourself identify in that way.

Heartstopper star calls out fans over speculation

The timing of all this is a curious thing. Speculation around Gatwa's sexuality has come around again just days after Heartstopper actor Kit Connor spoke out against the speculation that he's faced in the past few weeks about his sexuality too.

"Twitter is so funny man. apparently some people on here know my sexuality better than I do..." wrote Kit after some fans assumed he's queer because he plays a bisexual character on the show.

Once again, people are conflating a queer character's sexual identity with the actor who plays them despite there being no actual statement on this matter from the actor themselves.

As Connor points out, only he – and possibly close friends or family – know what his sexuality might be, and it's perfectly within his rights to keep it that way. Neither he nor Gatwa should be forced to speak out on their private lives. Regardless of what the truth might be, that's their truth, and no one else's.

A few days after Kit's post, co-star Joe Locke spoke to Attitude about all this, explaining that: "When someone's in the public eye, some people assume that they're okay with their private lives being public. Just because you're in something doesn't mean you want your life spread around the internet."

However, some might object to this when it comes to queer storytelling thanks to the debate that continues to circle around straight actors playing queer roles, or vice versa.

joe locke as charlie spring, kit connor as nick nelson, heartstopper

Netflix

Yes, LGBTQ+ actors have historically missed out on LGBTQ+ roles because straight actors have been given them instead. And yes, keeping your sexuality private in this regard can muddy the waters a bit around authenticity. But no matter where you might stand on that overall debate, the fact remains: a person's sexuality should never be assumed.

Of course, that can be a tall order at times. It's easy to make these kind of assumptions subconsciously, without even realising it. But by recognising the harm that this does, we can work on being more critical of ourselves and the way we describe others.

Just as Ncuti has a "unique responsibility" to the good Doctor, we too have a responsibility when it comes to how we treat others. Why be hurtful like The Master or Heartstopper's Harry Greene when we can be more like the open-minded characters that Ncuti and Kit play on screen?

Update (November 1, 2022):

On October 31, 2022, Kit Connor returned to Twitter after an extended absence to share the following post:

"Back for a minute. I’m bi. Congrats for forcing an 18 year old to out himself. I think some of you missed the point of the show. Bye."

Although Kit doesn't explain exactly why he felt "forced" to come out, all the speculation and unfounded queer-baiting accusations discussed earlier on this piece seem like the most probable cause.

Heartstopper creator Alice Oseman replied immediately with her support underneath the original post:

"I truly don’t understand how people can watch 'Heartstopper' and then gleefully spend their time speculating about sexualities and judging based on stereotypes. I hope all those people are embarrassed as F**K. Kit you are amazing."

It's extremely disheartening to see that the concerns we discussed earlier on in the year have now led to this point. No one should ever feel forced to come out, and Kit's young age makes this situation even worse. But we're thankful at least that a huge number of his fans, friends and colleagues have come out in support of Kit since his coming out.

Still, nothing about this is okay, and we just hope that people can learn something from this awful situation so it doesn't happen again to someone else.

Heartstopper is streaming on Netflix. Seasons 2 and 3 have been confirmed.

Doctor Who returns in 2023 on BBC One in the UK and Disney+ elsewhere. Meanwhile, in the US, the show airs on BBC America, with series 1-12 available on HBO Max. Classic Doctor Who streams on BritBox in the UK.