Doctor Who’s Ncuti Gatwa shares his delight over new London pad having previously battled ‘homelessness’

Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa gleefully announced that he bought his first home on Tuesday (February 1).

The 30-year-old has previously spoke about how he was homeless for five months prior to landing his breakthrough role on Netflix’s Sex Education.

And after securing an appearance in the highly anticipated Barbie film and the coveted Time Lord role last year, the actor revealed on Instagram that he has become a proud homeowner.

Sharing a selfie from his living room, the Rwandan-Scottish star captioned the snap: “Man’s a homeowner now”.

The actor also thanked his removal company for helping him with his all important move in another post on his Instagram Story, writing: “Finally FULLY in my yard. Hit up Den Drops Ltd if you need to move. So helpful. So efficient. And great banter. What more do you want.”

But before he landed his role as Eric Effiong on Sex Education in 2019, Gatwa previously revealed that he’d struggled with homelessness in his pursuit of an acting career.

The actor explained that he temped at Harrods to make ends meet, but in reality, he was relying on friends to house him, one of whom even lent him money to get to the Sex Education audition that would change his life.

He told The Big Issue in 2020: “So for five months before Sex Education, I was couch-surfing among all my friends. I didn’t have a home. I was homeless.

“The only thing stopping me from being on the streets was the fact I had friends. Being a 25-year-old man with no money or job affected my sense of self-worth. Rejection became unbearable. Auditions weren’t just acting jobs, they were lifelines.

“One friend gave me money towards paying off the prior month’s rent and offered to let me move into their spare room rent free for a while.

“‘Great’, I thought. An opportunity to get back on my feet and start paying people back. As I was standing on the street with my suitcases, one thought came into my head: ‘I’m homeless’.”

He added that “to the outside world everything seemed fine” but in reality, he was sharing a double bed with his best friend and lost weight due “eating only one meal a day” to survive.

Fans of Doctor Who will see Gatwa take on the Time Lord at the end of 2023.