Doctor Who appeared to make history this weekend after Ncuti Gatwa ’s Doctor puckered up for an emotional kiss with a dashing bounty hunter, played by Jonathan Groff. This came amid The Doctor and Ruby Sunday’s latest adventure, during which they travelled back to Bridgerton-era England for a spot of dancing. It was here that The Doctor encountered ‘Rogue,’ an interplanetary bounty hunter on the trail of a gang of shape-shifting cosplayers looking to make 19th-century Britain their playground.
After some romantically charged bickering, the Doctor and Rogue soon hit it off – culminating in a heartbreaking kiss as Rogue sacrificed himself to save an imperilled Ruby. All very steamy, yes, and certainly The Doctor’s first real same-sex love interest – but not the first time the Timelord has locked lips with another man. In fact, The Doctor’s first same-sex kiss came almost 20 years ago (feel old yet?) during the first series of its regenerated reboot, starring Christopher Eccleston .
The moment in question came during the season one episode The Parting Of The Ways, featuring Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor. With the world once again under threat from the Dalek empire, The Doctor teams up with 51st-century con man Captain Jack Harkness – played by John Barrowman – in an attempt to save the day. As Captain Jack prepares to sacrifice his own life fighting the Dalek menace, he turns to The Doctor and the pair share an impassioned kiss as they say their goodbyes.
A h.
