Rose Ayling-Ellis, a soap opera star and Strictly Come Dancing champion, has addressed some casting rumors for Doctor Who.
Following the recent announcement that the deaf actress would be departing EastEnders after two years, fans started wondering where her career would go from there.
Online rumors about the soap actress and Sex Education actor Ncuti Gatwa joining forces as the next Doctor Who sidekick swiftly spread. At the Edinburgh TV Festival, Ayling-Ellis addressed the rumour regarding Doctor Who and has now clarified the situation.
The actress emphasized that the rumors, which she believes came from social media, had “no veracity.”
She told Sky News, “I think it was a rumor that started on Twitter and it got bigger and bigger until it was everywhere.
The actress admitted she hasn’t agreed to be a Doctor Who companion, but she gave the impression she may be open to doing so if she were ever offered the part in the future: “That job sounds fantastic!”
Ayling-Ellis would be the first companion with a disability to appear on the popular BBC sci-fi if she were chosen as Gatwa’s time-traveling partner.
She’s no stranger to creating TV history; last year, she was the first deaf contestant on Strictly, and she and her professional partner Giovanni Pernice went on to win the series. Similarly, Ayling-Ellis became the first deaf actor to portray a regular deaf character on the BBC soap opera when she joined EastEnders as Frankie Lewis in 2020.
Fans of Doctor Who are now preparing for a special, long-form episode that will commemorate the BBC’s centenary this autumn. When the legendary sci-fi character regenerates, Jodie Whittaker will step down from her role as The Doctor in the special.