GOSSIP & RUMORS: ‘Doctor Who’ showrunner blasts critics over show’s ‘wokeness’

“Who” has time for “wokeness” worriers?

“Doctor Who” showrunner Russell T Davies is fed up with complaints from “online warriors” that the series has become too woke.

Speaking with BBC Radio 2, Davies, 61, took aim at individuals who object to the show’s inclusive casting. In 2023, actor Ncuti Gatwa became the first Black actor to play The Doctor (previously portrayed by David Tenant and others) on the long-running British sci-fi show.

When “Doctor Who” returned last week, Gatwa, 32, was joined by newcomer Varada Sethu, 32, as The Doctor’s latest companion, marking the first time the series’ two lead roles were held by non-white actors.

“Someone always brings up matters of diversity,” Davies told BBC Radio 2. “And there are online warriors accusing us of diversity and wokeness and involving messages and issues. And I have no time for this. I don’t have a second to bear it.”

He added, “What you might call diversity, I just call an open door. We open a door, and there is the world, and you breathe it in and your lungs are full of the air and it’s cold and it’s bracing and there’s a world in front of you! There’s a blue sky. There’s clouds and there’s noise, there’s birdsong, there’s people arguing.

“Someone over there is dancing, someone over there is arguing. That’s how to write, to get that whole world into it. Some people maybe just open a window a crack,” he said.

“Stick with your narrow window. Over here’s a big open door, and y’know those people who were dancing? Now everyone’s dancing, and it’s glorious. That’s the place to be.”

Davies sees his approach to representation as an essential part of authentic storytelling.

“That’s life, and I think it’s the only way to write,” he shared. “I think it’s harder to write with that narrow window. That’s really why. Why limit yourself? Why breathe in the exhaust fumes? Why be toxic? Come over here where the life and light and air and sound is.”

Davies, who also created “Queer as Folk” and “It’s a Sin,” has previously said that casting Sethu was a no-brainer.

“That was the fastest ‘yes,’” he told Entertainment Weekly earlier this month. “I remember I sent an email, not just to the people I work with, but to the BBC, to Disney+ — absolutely instant answers, saying ‘Yes, yes, yes.’ We all loved her. So it was actually one of the easiest pieces of casting we’ve ever had. Joyous.”

As for Gatwa, the showrunner had nothing but praise.

“He’s ferocious. He’s a limitless actor,” Davies said. “He’s a joy. He’s a force in the world. I mean, I think the man is a great force for good and it’s a joy to work for him, to serve him with scripts that will show all those talents under the greatest spotlight, with the most noise and fuss and visibility we can possibly muster. I think we’re doing him proud.”