Doctor Who’s Ncuti Gatwa And Millie Gibson Told Me The Wild And Heartfelt Story Behind The Scene Where The Doctor Gives Ruby The Key To The TARDIS
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Minor spoilers for the first two episodes of Doctor Who’s first season with the Fifteenth Doctor are ahead. If you haven’t watched them, you can stream both right now with a Disney+ subscription.
There’s a new Doctor galavanting around the universe, and with him is a new companion. Whenever the Doctor regenerates – or bi-generates in this case – more often than not they end up with a new friend traveling with them in the TARDIS. In Ncuti Gatwa’s first season as the Fifteenth Doctor, Millie Gibson plays his companion Ruby Sunday, and they are delightful together. So, when I had the chance to interview them ahead of the show’s premiere on the 2024 TV schedule, I asked about filming the scene that cemented their companionship.
In the episode “Space Babies,” we see The Doctor and Ruby go on their first adventure together following their initial meeting in the 2023 holiday special. During it, they help a group of space babies – which is exactly what it sounds like – defeat the Bogeyman who has taken over part of their spaceship. After they complete the mission, and help both the babies and their monster, the timelord gives his new pal a key to his TARDIS, and it’s a very special moment. So, I had to ask Millie Gibson and Ncuti Gatwa about it, and it resulted in a marvelously wild story.
Millie Gibson And Ncuti Gatwa Explain How They Shot The Scene Where The Doctor Gives Ruby A Key To The TARDIS
The scene in question is incredibly wholesome. It features The Doctor formally asking Ruby to travel with him, and her chaotically and lovingly considering the offer and excitedly saying yes. It’s a perfect example of the duo’s relationship, and it’s a big moment for the show. Immediately when I asked Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson about it, they got excited and The Doctor actor said:
That's a very good question. And it all came rushing back, do you remember that scene? It was the madness of TV.
Gibson went on to tell me what exactly her Doctor Who castmate meant by “madness of TV.” In the episode, she got covered in snot while they were in the same area as the Bogeyman, so filming the episode was messy. The TARDIS scene came between some of the snotty scenes, as the Ruby actress explained:
I just had a separate scene where I had loads of snot in my hair where I'm running up to Jocelyn’s lair, as you call it, and to tell her to stop the bogeyman from you know, plummeting into the universe. And then they ended up saying, ‘Oh, we're gonna pick up the shot for the key,’ and my hair was all snotty. So you know, continuity brain and makeup they were like, ‘absolutely not.’ So it's actually a really rushed kind of mad experience filming that scene.
That’s honestly crazy that such a magical and “intimate” scene, as Gatwa described it, was so rushed while they were shooting. However, it makes sense. It required fewer people, props and snot than the rest of the episode, so I understand why they picked it up right after Gibson had filmed an action-packed sequence.
She went on to tell me that the scene was fun to film because they were also improvising, and they got to bring some of that wonderful chaotic Doctor and Ruby energy to the heartfelt moment. The actress elaborated on this point, telling me:
We both improvised when we got in the TARDIS and you were like ‘It’s bigger on the inside.’ So yeah, it was a beautiful moment but rushed. The magic telly.
While rushed in terms of shooting, there’s no denying the significance of this scene, and both Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson are very aware of it, especially when it comes to the gravity of taking on the leading roles in such an iconic show.
Ncuti Gatwa And Millie Gibson Open Up About The Significance Of The Scene
Along with loving Doctor Who for its big adventures and creative villains – like this season’s Pantheon of big bad gods – one of the other reasons the show is so good lies in how heartfelt and sincere it is. This scene where The Doctor gives Ruby a key to his ship is one of the moments that proves this. It cements their friendship, and it shows their genuine care for each other. To that point, Gatwa told me that this interaction really hammered home the idea that he and Gibson are on this wonderful and crazy journey together both on screen and in real life:
It was such a beautiful moment. I love that scene. It feels literally like ‘We’re going to do this together!’ It feels mad that it’s us that’s on this adventure.
The Ruby Sunday actress agreed. She specifically noted that this scene in particular was quite symbolic of what’s to come for The Doctor and his companion as well as herself and Gatwa. Millie Gibson told me:
Oh, totally, I think just getting the key, it's like, ‘Oh my god, I live with you now.’ Like, yeah, it's a big moment. Symbolic.
Whenever we get a new Doctor and/or a new companion, seeing them go on their first adventure and officially decide to travel together is always special. In this case, seeing Ncuti Gatwa’s timelord hand Millie Gibson’s Ruby the key to the TARDIS symbolized their friendship and the adventures that are to come. Overall, it was a lovely little point in the Fifteenth Doctor's story that fits perfectly with Doctor Who. However, it also highlights this new and unique relationship, and I can’t wait to see more!
To see The Doctor and Ruby traveling around time and space together, you can stream new episodes of Doctor Who every Friday at 7 p.m. ET on Disney+.
