Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa was pictured speaking at a pro-Palestine rally outside Parliament days before leaving the flagship BBC show.
A social media post shared by Choose Love, an organisation “supporting refugees and displaced people, showed the actor making a speech at its event in Westminster last week.
In the photo, Gatwa, dressed in green combat trousers, a beige fleece, brown boots and a white cap, read the names of dead Palestinian children from a mobile device in front of a banner reading: “Gaza: Actions not words.”
Other famous faces to list the names at the event included actor and comedian Alexei Sayle and Gatwa’s former Dr Who co-star Varada Sethu.
Choose Love captioned the post: “Our hearts ache for every single on of the 15,613 dead Palestinian children killed in Gaza by Israeli bombardment and military offensive.
"Last Thursday, together, we read every one of their names aloud. It took us 18 hours.”
The 15,613 figure was published by the Gaza Ministry of Health, though Choose Love did not cite this source or qualify that it is run by Hamas in its pose.
The ministry’s data has repeatedly been proven to be unreliable, including several self-confessed revisions.
However, last Thursday was May 29 – two days before Gatwa’s final Doctor Who appearance aired on May 3, though the JC understands his contract with the BBC had already expired.
He would go on to leave the iconic role in a controversial regeneration that saw erstwhile co-star Billie Piper, who played long-time companion Rose Tyler, return as The Doctor.
Gatwa’s exit was marked by reports of behind the scenes turmoil and plunging ratings, with his last-minute decision to pull out of the corporation’s Eurovision coverage reported to be the last straw.
His decision was not publicly explained, but speculation was rife that it was related to Israel’s participation in the contest.
However, sources told The Sun that Gatwa left the BBC on good terms and was keen to move on as he is planning to relocate to Los Angeles, with several “Hollywood projects” said to be lined up for him.
When contacted by the JC, the BBC emphasised that Gatwa and Sethu were not employed by the corporation at the time of the event and that, as actors, neither were bound by BBC impartiality guidelines.
