This weekend's episode of Doctor Who, "Rogue," is generating a lot of discussion online. Why? Well, it features the franchise's first romantic same-sex kiss...and the Doctor is the one doing the smooching!
Ncuti Gatwa is the first queer actor to play the iconic sci-fi character and, with queer TV writer Russell T Davies back in charge of the series (even in the mid-2000s, he broke new ground by introducing the openly bisexual Captain Jack Harkness), we'd expected a trailblazing moment like this to make it into an episode sooner rather than later.
Now, it's finally happened as we see the Doctor fall in love with a man; gay actor Jonathan Groff's enigmatic Rogue.
As we first explained on SFFGazette.com, it begins with the Doctor and Ruby Sunday arriving at a Bridgerton-like ball, only for it to become clear there are alien shapeshifters causing chaos. Rogue, who many fans theorised could be the new Captain Jack (he isn't), is a bounty hunter tasked with bringing them in and, initially, mistakes the Doctor for one of them.
The two flirt a lot during their team-up, and it's soon confirmed that Rogue previously had a male romantic partner.
During an action-packed, high-stakes final act, the mysterious character sacrifices himself to save Ruby, only to lock lips with the Doctor for a lengthy kiss before doing so. While Captain Jack briefly kissed the Doctor on the lips back in 2005, this is the show's first same-sex romantic lip-locking session and a big step forward in terms of representation.
This isn't the first time Davies has hinted at the Doctor's ties to the LGBTQ+ community as the 60th anniversary special starring David Tennant suggested he was attracted to Isaac Newton. There was a more overt hint in the 2023 Christmas Special when the Gatwa's Doctor recalled spending a "hot summer" with illusionist Harry Houdini.
"Doctor Who was kind of sexless," Davies recently shared when asked how the show's gay themes resonated with him as a child. "He’s with a beautiful woman all the time and never looks at her sexually. And that’s an interesting little chime with a young, gay boy."
"The low budget means they used silver and glitter," he adds. "They turned to someone with a funny wig on their head, pretending to be a Martian. The programme can’t avoid being camp."
"Doctor Who’s first director was a gay Asian man. I find that to be a tremendous victory."
You can watch this passionate clip from the latest episode of Doctor Who in the X post below.