LOS ANGELES, May 9 (Reuters) - Ncuti Gatwa, the first

Black actor to play the lead role in "Doctor Who", says its new

series feels like "a fresh era" as the British sci-fi television

show goes global.

The much-loved BBC cult show will now also be streamed to

audiences outside the United Kingdom in a new collaboration

between the British broadcaster and Walt Disney Co's ( DIS )

streaming service Disney+.

The Rwandan-born Scottish actor, who shot to fame in Netflix

show "Sex Education", plays the latest incarnation of the Time

Lord in the new series, which also sees screenwriter and

producer Russell T Davies return as showrunner.

"It feels very much like a new era and a fresh era. So, it's

a really great point for people to jump on board to the show,"

Gatwa told Reuters at the series premiere in Los Angeles on

Wednesday night.

"We've got new villains and new monsters. The Doctor's a lot

more out of his depth than we've ever seen him before."

The Doctor is able to regenerate, allowing different actors

to play the role since the series first aired in 1963.

"My approach was to watch, study all the past Doctors that

have been before, find out their weaknesses and how I can be

better," Gatwa joked.

"No, I really wanted to immerse myself in the world of it

all and just understand what was unmistakably the doctor about

each of them and like what they brought individually to the role

and tried to see where I could fit in with that. I don't know

whether I've done that or not but we shall see."

Actor Millie Gibson, known for British television soap

"Coronation Street", plays the Doctor's new companion Ruby

Sunday.

In the new series, the pair will head to the Regency era as

well as war-torn future worlds in their TARDIS, a

time-travelling craft in the shape of a police telephone box

that famously looks bigger on the inside than the outside.

"It's timeless. I mean, not only does the doctor regenerate,

the show regenerates with it and so does its audience," Gibson

said.

"Doctor Who" premieres on Disney+ on Friday and on the BBC

on Saturday.