Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa proudly shows off his new home, five years after being homeless

Doctor Who’s Ncuti Gatwa proudly showed off his new London home on Tuesday as he posed for a photo in his living room.

The actor, 30, previously admitted he was homeless for five months before finally landing his breakout role in Netflix’s Sex Education five years ago.

But after securing the prestigious role of the famed time-traveling Doctor Who, Ncuti has now become a first-time homeowner and is delighted.

Ncuti, who moved completely in this week, offered a big smile as she sat among unpacked clothes and boxes, as well as an impressive collection of coats.

Captioning the post, he wrote: “The man owns a house now.”

The Scottish star, who was born in Rwanda, previously revealed that before landing the role, he had struggled with homelessness and depression.

In an interview with The big problem in 2020, he admitted that while temporarily working at the luxury department store Harrods in the city, he sold £7,000 fragrances during the day, but did not have a bed to sleep in when he came home at night.

He also revealed that a friend had to loan him money to get to audition for his role, which earned him praise for his portrayal of a gay black teen who steals the show.

Happy: Ncuti, who moved completely out this week, offered up a big smile as she sat amid unpacked clothes and boxes.

He said: ‘So for five months before Sex Education, I was couch surfing amongst all my friends. I didn’t have a house

‘I was homeless. The only thing that prevented me from being on the street was the fact that I had friends.

“Being a 25-year-old man with no money and no job affected my sense of self-worth. The rejection became unbearable. Auditions weren’t just acting jobs, they were lifesavers.

‘A friend gave me money to pay the previous month’s rent and offered to let me move into his spare room without paying rent for a while.

Honest: The actor, 30, has been open about his troubled past, admitting he was homeless for five months before finally landing his breakout role in Netflix’s Sex Education (pictured October)

Great I thought. An opportunity to get back on my feet and start giving people money back.

On the day of the move, he changed his mind. ‘While I was standing on the street with my suitcases, a thought came into my head: “I am homeless.”

‘To the outside world everything seemed fine. I was temp at Harrods.

“I would wake up from the double bed I shared with my best friend, leave the house without a hair out of place in a pristine-looking trench coat and polished brogues.

‘I would get compliments for looking so presentable. When I lost weight by eating just one meal a day, people would tell me how slim and healthy I looked.’

After her move over the weekend, Ncuti couldn’t wait to thank her moving team for being so kind.

He wrote: ‘Finally COMPLETELY in my yard. Visit Den Drops Ltd if you need to move. Very useful. so efficient. And great joke. What else do you want.’

Ncuti will replace 14th Dr. David Tennant at the end of 2023.

Meanwhile, Doctor Who bosses recently said they considered casting a non-binary actor for the Fifteenth Time Lord, before casting Ncuti.

In a new interview, Russell T. Davies discussed the search to find Jodie Whittaker’s replacement with actors from ‘all backgrounds and genders’ taking part in the audition process.

The screenwriter, 59, reflected on the casting process and how both he and executive producer Phil Collinson had a rough vision that the new Doctor would be played by someone under 30.

Casting: In a new interview, Russell T. Davies (pictured with Ncuti in May) discussed the search to find Jodie Whittaker’s replacement.

“As always, we turned to Andy Pryor [casting director] and said, “Bring us the best of the land.” We looked at all the backgrounds, all the genres,” Russell told the Radio Times. Doctor Who Magazine.

‘We saw men, we saw women, we saw a non-binary actor.

“I think as a rule of thumb we were looking for younger people, most of the people we saw were under 30, but not as a definitive rule of thumb, and sort of new talent.”

While Russell remained coy about which actors were involved in the audition process, he did admit that the bosses almost gave the Doctor Who role to someone else, before Ncuti landed the part.

Doctor Who returns in November 2023 with three special episodes to coincide with the show’s 60th anniversary, with David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor.

The Fifteenth Doctor, played by Ncuti, will take control of the TARDIS and his first episode will air over the festive period next year.

‘We looked at all origins, all genders’: Doctor Who bosses considered casting non-binary actor for Time Lord, before casting Sex Education star Ncuti