Doctor Who is a series that had a bisexual lead in its spinoff, Torchwood, with Captain Jack. That character, who has kissed the Doctor in the past, began paving the way for the franchise way back when. So what is going on with these current headlines?
The series returned for its Disney+ era with a new Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa), and it has ushered in some confusing headlines. Over the weekend, both Deadline and Vulture published pieces claiming that the episode had the first same-sex kiss for either the Doctor or the show. That … is not true either way. It is, however, the first time it was a romantic same-sex kiss for the Doctor, but the headlines just make it seem like the show’s history has been overlooked.
The Deadline tweet read, “‘Doctor Who’ Makes History With Its First Ever Same-Sex Kiss in 60 Years,” and there are couple of false things. It was far from the show’s first ever. Outside of Captain Jack kissing the Doctor and all of Torchwood, the Doctor has had gay companions (Bill Potts kissed a woman during Peter Capaldi’s run as the Doctor), and there were couples like Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint, who were together and kissed on the series.
Fans of the series even put a community note on Deadline’s tweet about it, writing “The first on-screen same-sex kiss happened in 2005 in ‘The Parting of the Ways’. There have been several since, including in ‘Deep Breath’ (2014), ‘The Doctor Falls’ (2017) and ‘Praxeus’ (2020).”
Vulture’s piece was a little more specific, claiming that it was the Doctor’s first. “It’s about time (lord)! After 60 years, Doctor Who has finally had his first ever same-sex kiss. Leave it to the always-wet Jonathan Groff to break a 60-year dry spell.” That is, again, not true.
If you label it as a 60+ year dry spell, that’s a lot of history to keep in mind. It isn’t the Doctor’s first, but the character reciprocating romantic feelings for the man he is kissing is a first for the show, and something we should be celebrating! Let’s just make sure we’re being clear about it.
