Features

How did Ncuti Gatwa feel working with classic companion Mel?

Now that the first season of the Fifteenth Doctor's adventures has wrapped, Doctor Who Magazine is looking back at some of the highlights, including a special Doctor and companion reunion! 

The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Mel Bush (Bonnie Langford) worked with Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) and the knowledge of her missing mother to defeat an ancient enemy of the Doctor... but how did actors Ncuti and Bonnie feel about their reunion? Doctor Who Magazine talks to Ncuti about his favourite moments with Bonnie. 

The latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine (DWM) is on sale from Thursday 18th July. It is available to order as a subscription, either physical or digital, here.

Read an exclusive excerpt from issue 606 below.

Bonnie Langford as Mel

Ncuti Gatwa is clearly thrilled to be working with Bonnie Langford again.

“It’s an honour,” he says of the actor behind the indefatigable Melanie Bush. “She’s a true showbiz gal. A consummate professional. She gets up, does the job come rain or shine – ‘I’m here, I’m standing in the right spot, right place, I’m looking after the crew’ – and that’s rare. That’s why she has a career as illustrious and long as she does. She’s Bonnie Langford for a reason. She puts herself behind the work. The work comes first. It’s a great quality to have. That’s built in the theatre.

“And she’s a team player,” he continues. “A pure, pure team player. She’s such a caring person. On days that I’ve had where I’m like, this is a lot, she always knocks on my trailer, gives me a hug and a pack of custard creams. She knows I love custard creams, deeply. And to have her knowledge of Doctor Who is so great. Like, she gets it. Bonnie Langford gets it.”

Find out more in the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine.

Doctor Who Magazine issue 606

This issue of the magazine also includes:

  • Behind the scenes on this year’s season finale with Ncuti Gatwa, Bonnie Langford, Jemma Redgrave, Yasmin Finney, Russell T Davies and many more!
  • Join Gabriel Woolf as he records the voice of Sutekh for The Legend of Ruby Sunday and Empire of Death and remembers his role in 1975’s Pyramids of Mars. Plus! We talk to James Burge – the hand of Sutekh…
  • Script to Screen: creating the bird-like alien Chuldur for Regency episode Rogue.
  • We discuss the more unsettling aspects of Finetime with Callie Cooke and Tom Rhys Harries – alias Dot and Bubble’s Lindy and Ricky.
  • Russell T Davies runs into Louis Theroux at the BBC and the conversation quickly turns to Doctor Who.
  • What If…? We journey down the roads never taken during the Fourth Doctor’s era…
  • The Time and Space Visualiser takes us back to 1982 to look at a formative Doctor Who publication…
  • A tribute to William Russell. We reflect on the important role his character, Ian Chesterton, played in the series; take a look at his wider career; and share the memories of those who worked with him including Carole Ann Ford, Maureen O'Brien and Peter Purves.
  • Loose Ends drops in on Graham O’Brien’s companion support group, where they’re bidding a touching farewell to their most senior member…
  • The Fact of Fiction – a detailed analysis of 1965’s The Space Museum.
  • The latest instalment of our comic strip featuring the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby.

The latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine (DWM) is on sale from Thursday 18th July. It is available to order as a subscription, either physical or digital, here.

More on Features

Sorry there is no content available for your region.

more from the whoniverse

Explore

Show Info

Explore

Stories

Explore

Play

More From Read and Watch

Jo Martin on her return as the Fugitive Doctor

25 Jun 2026

Doctor Who Magazine discusses all things CIRCUIT BREAKER ahead of Jo Martin's triumphant return...

Circuit Breaker
Features

The Ultimate Guide to a Doctor Who Watch Party

11 Jun 2026

Lock the TARDIS doors, lower the astro-blinds, and fire up the time machine - let’s have a Doctor Who watch party!

Army of Ghosts
Features

An update on the future of Doctor Who

10 Jun 2026

Today we’re announcing an update on plans for the future of Doctor Who.

TARDIS
TV Series

A Brief History of the Eighth Doctor

6 Jun 2026

With Doctor Who: The Movie now available on Blu-ray, here's the story of the Eighth Doctor – from his television appearances to his adventures beyond the screen…

Eighth Doctor
Features

Alex Kingston and Arthur Darvill reunite for new River Song audio series

4 Jun 2026

Alex Kingston and Arthur Darvill star in 'The Death and Life of River Song: River and Rory', a box set of full-cast audio drama, due for release January 2027.

River and Rory
Product