Ncuti Gatwa had to hire security after Doctor Who announcement

Ncuti Gatwa had to hire security after being cast in 'Doctor Who'.

The 29-year-old actor will replace Jodie Whittaker in the BBC series but his 'Barbie' co-star Simu Liu has revealed that after the news was announced, Ncuti had to take extra precautions.

According to Variety, Simu said: "[He] didn't tell anyone a thing. And then all of a sudden over the weekend he was announced. We came to work on Monday we were like 'Dude, how long have you been holding this in for?' And he's like, 'Two months.'

"He had to get security in and around not only his place of residence, but the places of residence of his entire family."

Meanwhile, Russell T. Davies previously revealed the announcement of his casting was very carefully timed to coincide with the BAFTA Television Awards, so everyone working on the show had faced a tense few months desperate for the news not to leak out.

Russell described the reveal as a "spectacular operation", noting there was a specific plan in mind.

In the Production Notes column of the new issue of Doctor Who magazine, he said: "[The plan was to] release a cryptic post online at 11:30am. Let that go viral. Then an official statement at 12:30pm, released to the press.

"My mate Stefan texted me, always ready with a complaint. 'Bit low-key,' he said. Oh you wait, I thought, as we hit 13:30 and… Flash, bang, pop, scream, the new Doctor walked onto the biggest red carpet in the world! People going crazy for him! That was quite a sight, camera crews and microphones and journalists in the blazing sunshine yelling, 'Ncuti! Ncuti!'"

The writer admitted the reveal took a "hell of a lot of planning".

He added: "The fact that we had to do all this in secret meant we were rattling with tension.

"Not only had Ncuti’s name not been leaked, but he hadn’t even been guessed. His casting had been locked away, since February, with all of us worrying that it would be spoiled, any day now.

"But it worked. It absolutely worked."