PrimeWire

Alternate theory: Russell T Davies was a fan of Ncuti Gatwa from his role on Sex Education. He certainly would have been familiar, if not a fan of the show. Davies made his name (and changed television forever) as the creator of “Queer as Folk,” the show Sex Education is most consistently compared to.

You’re right that Idris Elba would have been perfect for the role (apart from being hopelessly straight), just like fan-favorite Tilda Swinton would have been perfect for the first female doctor. But neither eventuality was ever remotely possible. There’s such a thing as too famous. They already had to sell the show to Disney to afford the production costs they have now! Elba would probably cost more for one episode than the budget for a whole series.

With Trevor Noah, I’m not sure the fact he’s not British is a deal breaker, but the fact he’s not an actor surely is. Really, if you’ve decided on casting a gay Black British actor with proven ability to carry a show, the list of candidates is… not as long as one might like.