Quotes

I live with my best friend and his mum, who runs a salon in Tottenham and I'm there all the time. Whenever the young boys come in to get their trims, the conversations they have, they're like, 'Ah Mum, they're non-binary, you can't call them 'him'. It rolls off the tongue. It's amazing. That's the generation that's going to save the world.

[on Dunfermline school peers who set up a racist Facebook page about him] There's not many people that look like me in Scotland... It wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't actually horrendous. Do I want to say this? Yeah, why not... it didn't really bother me that much because I knew. I was like, you can't know me and not like me. I was actually quite confused! I was like, what? These people don't like me? I was like, that's never happened before. So I was like, OK, fine. I'm just going to carry on being myself and they're going to fall in love with me sooner or later. And they did. It was really a good lesson to me about the difference between hate and ignorance. Obviously their behaviour was inexcusable. But at the same time, I was the first black person that they probably saw in real life. They [later] apologised profusely. Sorry is only a word, isn't it, but their actions spoke more than that. It wasn't that horrendous. My mum really toughened me up, as well. I grew up watching her move to this country with three kids on her back. She couldn't speak the language, didn't know the culture, no money, no nothing - and she raised all three of us. As cheesy as it sounds, I've been watching strength from young. My mum has dealt with so much shit.

[on facing adversity] I grew up in a working-class area, and I stood out - for my voice, my appearance, I did dance and things like that. But I always had faith in my charm. I always had faith in my charisma. I was like, 'If I can go around each group and befriend them all, then I'm all powerful.' Divide and conquer... It did work. I was all powerful!

[on Stonemouth (2015) People forget about that pivotal role in my career. Really changed things, that one. My mum said I looked like a baby strippergram. Dougie the cop! He will live in my heart forever.

I had never met another queer Rwandan person before. I thought I was the only one in the world.

[on his casting as the Time Lord] Do you know what? It makes perfect sense to me. I feel like anyone that has a problem with someone who's not a straight white man playing this character, you're not really, truly a fan of the show. You've not been watching! Because the show is about regeneration, and the Doctor is an alien - why would they only choose to be this sort of person?

[on meeting David Tennant whilst shooting his Doctor Who (2023) debut] To play this rôle beside him, who played this rôle which made me want to do this rôle, and him also being there - it was so many layers of full circle. And on top of it, you're wearing no pants! There was so much going on that day.

[on people objecting to his Doctor Who (2023) casting] Don't watch. Turn off the TV. Go and touch grass, please, for God's sake.

[on becoming the Doctor] There aren't quite the words to describe how I'm feeling. A mix of deeply honoured, beyond excited and of course a little bit scared. This role and show means so much to so many around the world, including myself, and each one of my incredibly talented predecessors has handled that unique responsibility and privilege with the utmost care. I will endeavour my upmost to do the same.