Doctor Who: Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson reveal what’s ahead for the 14th season of the hit BBC series

There are intimidating sets to be on. And then there’s Doctor Who.

The long-running series has been on air since 1963, and over six decades has amassed an enormous fan base, becoming a bona fide TV phenomenon.

No wonder new Doctor Who stars Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson admit they felt overawed when they first stepped onto set.

“Seeing the Tardis for the first time, it was on a photo shoot, and it was like, ‘Oh my God, I get to lean on this thing?’” Millie Gibson, who plays The Doctor’s newest companion, Ruby Sunday, tells The West Australian.

“It was so weird how we had to be so casual around it all — when it’s such an iconic monument!

“I mean … it’s the Tardis!”

Gatwa, who steps into the titular role — he first appeared last year in the show’s 60th anniversary special, “bi-generating” from David Tennant’s Doctor to co-exist as the 15th Time Lord alongside Tennant in the role — the pressure was very real.

“We are in great company in terms of who has come before us. Like, wow! I am being asked to fill in these shoes? Are my feet big enough?” he asks.

But they are — and then some.

Fans got their first sense of just how the Sex Education star would inhabit the role when the show aired episodes over the Christmas period — the response was resoundingly positive.

Early critic reviews of the most recent series, which drops on Saturday, have also been roundly positive.

Gatwa says he still thinks last year’s twist, which saw his incarnation of the Time Lord generating out of the body of Tennant’s, was a “cool” reveal.

“I wondered how it was all going to work,” he admits, “and what it all meant, but I thought that it was such a cool, new concept that hadn’t been done before.

“It felt like the ushering in of a new era; like things were going to get done differently.

“And that’s exciting to be a part of.

“But yes, to pop out of David Tennant’s shoulder was a lovely treat — and with no pants on!”

This new season sees previous Doctor Who show-runner Russell T Davies return once more to the series, which will see the Doctor and his new companion travel everywhere from regency era England to war-torn future worlds — and even 1960s Britain.

According to Gatwa and Gibson, Davies’ fingerprints are all over the new season, which has been updated to appeal to a new generation of Whovians.

“Russell had an idea of how he wanted to access (them), and so that vision was very clear through his writing,” says Gatwa.

“We just followed his writing — Russell is the captain of our ship, we are merely just sailors.”

So what can fans expect this time around?

“Russell is injecting the element of the supernatural into the series, where before, it’s felt more predominantly extra-terrestrial,” Gatwa explains.

There is a lot more lore, and ‘fairytaleness’ and ‘supernaturalness’ coming into it.

“It’s exciting new terrain for Doctor Who.”

And it’s been a case of ‘strap in and hold on’ for Gatwa and Gibson, who have loved embarking on their journey through space and time.

“We had so many people come up to us and try to prepare us, but nothing can prepare (you) for the unique journey you go on,” says Gibson.

Doctor Who season 15 starts on May 11 on Disney Plus.