Doctor Who fans defend Wild Blue Yonder's casting of Nathaniel Curtis as Isaac Newton

Doctor Who's latest 60th anniversary special surprised some viewers when it opened on a scene featuring Isaac Newton, who was portrayed by Nathaniel Curtis in the series.

Curtis and Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies first worked together on the critically-acclaimed Channel 4 series It's A Sin, and reunited for the brief cameo in Wild Blue Yonder which saw The Doctor (David Tennant) and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) meet Newton as the TARDIS travelled haphazardly through time and space.

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But the casting of Curtis received some backlash from a vocal minority, who criticised a British-Indian actor portraying the scientist when the real man was white, a factor that has also been defended by viewers who remarked on how the show has always broken boundaries.

Commenting on the BBC show's long history putting famous figures in unexpected situations, one viewer wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: "Isaac Newton wasn't Asian, you're right. But Charles Dickens didn't blow up ghosts. Agatha Christie didn't fight off a Giant Wasp. Mary Seacole didn't treat Sontarans. Van Gogh didn't stab an invisible chicken.

"It's #DoctorWho. Get a grip. And they say *we're* the snowflakes..."

Another person said of Curtis' casting: "Doctor Who having Isaac Newton blatantly racebent at the same time they blatantly contradict history by changing the actual name of gravity to "mavity"... y'all the joke is they're not that beholden to history, those two details are linked, it's not that serious"

In a similar vein, one viewer also said of critics: "Racists complaining that Nathaniel Curtis played Isaac Newton as an apple fell on him & he had a conversation with time travellers who led him to name his force 'mavity': your complaint about which bit of that is not historically accurate reveals much about you."

One person jokingly said to those complaining about the special: "Oh boy, if you’re mad about the historically inaccurate casting decision Doctor Who made for Isaac Newton, just wait until you hear about how Jesus has been represented in most productions since the creation of film, TV, theatre and art generally."

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There was another viewer who joked about the fact viewers barely gave newton "a second thought" before Curtis' portrayal of him in Doctor Who, writing: "Wait … #DoctorWho is the reason I’ve seen people arguing about Isaac Newton? A person they’ve never given a second thought about until they heard a non white person played him for two minutes in a sci-fi show they probably don’t even watch"

One person also referred to the fact The Doctor later calls Newton "hot" in a scene that revealed the character's sexuality, or comfortableness discussing it at least, by saying: "Isaac Newton also wasn’t hot. I for one am glad to see Doctor Who fixing the errors of real life. If someone’s going to write a law of universal mavitation, may as well be somebody sexy af."

As well as the depiction of Newton, another part of the episode that some viewers criticised was The Doctor's comment about the scientist and how he asked if that's "who [he is] now?" which Donna joked "wasn't far from the surface" in a simple yet effective way of referring to the character's sexual orientation.

In reaction to critics, one viewer said: "watching ppl act like doctor who is suddenly gay when it's been queering it up like nothing else this whole time"

Another viewer added: "The Fourteenth Doctor saying he's gay now is so important because this whole series of specials has ALL BEEN ABOUT HOW FLUID THE DOCTOR IS. #DoctorWho has always been queer. Wild Blue Yonder just said now we can SAY it on screen."

The Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials continue with The Giggle, which airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Saturday, 9 December at 6.30pm.