Take one look at Ncuti Gatwa and it’s impossible not to notice that, unlike the fourteen Doctor Who actors who preceded him, here is a man of muscle, someone who has clearly put time and energy into sculpting his body. According to David Higgins, the Personal Trainer who guided Ncuti to his current state of brawniness, this was absolutely deliberate: “his goal was to be the first buff Doctor, to give the audience something a bit different from a physicality perspective, and I think he’s definitely achieved it.”
Hear, hear; even through the suit he’s wearing in the teaser pictures, you can see the bulge of his biceps, the arms of a man who has been pumping some iron. Or has he? Is that body the product of weights or pilates, gruellingly long cardio sessions or bursts of HIIT? David explains that while he mixes up the styles of workouts for his clients, he is a big fan of core body control, and he bases a lot of his moves on Pilates: “I find as a method it teaches really good body control, form, range of movement, postural integrity, and core engagement, while my base weights programme includes a series of repetitions of weights that are challenging, but not ridiculously heavy. My cardio sessions similarly involve 25 minutes of a mix of things like squat thrusts and mountain climbers.”
David’s a tried and tested force in the world of training very well known bodies, having been championed by Claudia Schiffer whose husband, Matthew Vaughn, asked David to train the actors on Kingsman: The Secret Service, where he worked with Samuel L Jackson, who went on to ask him to come on the set of the Avengers, after which Tarzan followed, where he met Margot Robbie — which was how David ended up working on the Barbie film that led him to Ncuti. “I needed to get the Kens into Ken shape. Ncuti was a very willing participant!” It’s a good thing this was the case because the training schedule sounds brutal: “we trained every day, which included pilates, a base weights programme, and strengthening and conditioning - and then all the Kens did lots of dance rehearsals too.”
Ncuti didn’t have a break between Barbie and shooting Doctor Who, which means his exercise programme didn’t cease, either, and I ask how he sustained the intensity. His 360 approach is clearly what makes David an A-Lister favourite: “First, I consider training to not just be what people might refer to as killing yourself in the gym and all that, but rather like a lifestyle protocol, so sometimes that’ll mean a treatment in the infrared sauna or having an ice bath or having a massage/physiotherapy session — training is moving your body but also focussing on the recovery, so that’s really important to remember,” Higgins says.
I had always wondered how rest featured among the hardcore programmes that many celebrity trainers focus upon. Higgins is emphatic about the benefits of rest, telling me that “recovery is the other side of the coin. We see so many crazy moves on Instagram for example, but before I do anything, I always ask myself “what’s the risk vs the reward here?’ - the risk needs to be low. And, ultimately, things that look cool for the ‘gram aren’t important for what I need to do,” namely, creating the sorts of splendidly Herculean bodies that we see on screen that may prompt the thought ‘excellent, maybe I should book into a class tomorrow now I’ve seen that,’ but equally may engender feelings of inadequacy.”
Once again, David is the voice of reason when I posit that Ncuti’s body may well just do this to the people watching it, knowing full well that while for some like me, comparison is energising, for others it can be a real issue. “The expectation for men has changed drastically in the last 20 years. Remember that Indiana Jones physique from the ‘80s? It’s so different now, what with the rise of superhero movies and social media.” There’s also genetics to consider, with many of the actors playing roles requiring a certain kind of form being blessed in that department — as well as generally taking on those roles while relatively young. “Ncuti is 31 and is already an impeccable specimen with amazing genetics on his side before you even get to what I do.” That said, David isn’t a fan of focussing solely on the outside end product that he is hired to create: “I generally go about my work with the goal not of achieving a specific physique but rather having my clients live their healthiest lives to be great at their jobs, clear of mind, and focussed — and the muscles are a happy by-product.”
But is it as simple as it sounds, to get as ripped as Ncuti? I try out one of David’s workouts from his YouTube channel, where monthly membership to access the full library starts at £35, and gave the free ELEVATE Core Workout ten minute session a go. Was it a doddle? Absolutely not. Yes, it was rooted in sensible moves not requiring any acrobatic abilities to partake in, but even completing that short session made my muscles burn, reminding me of the sacrifice required for a very muscle-lined body.
It isn’t possible for everyone, a fact David readily admits, adding that despite knowing all the moves and being a trainer for scores of celebrities, he doesn’t have time to turn himself into what he’d describe as “a muscle Mary” because his lifestyle doesn’t allow for it: “I’m 41, I’m a dad of three, so sleep deprivation is a real thing, and trying to maintain any kind of healthy lifestyle is very challenging. The pillars of necessity in order to achieve these results is intense, you sacrifice everything — it’s a job, that’s what you do.”
So, yes, Ncuti may look astonishingly buff when you tune in to watch him on Doctor Who, but that body required “locking in like an athlete,” a fact I think is well worth remembering whenever we see someone looking excellent on screen.
