Doctor Who new sonic screwdriver: BBC reveals 15th Doctor Ncuti Gatwa’s gadget ahead of Christmas special

Following Doctor Who’s shocking final 60th anniversary special, The Giggle, Ncuti Gatwa was finally introduced as the 15th Doctor in a bi-regeneration that could alter the course of the series for years to come.

We didn’t see much of Ncuti’s Doctor in action, and he was sans trousers for his entire first appearance, but we were treated to a look at his slightly modified TARDIS, which contains a jukebox. 

One Doctor Who accessory that we didn’t see in The Giggle was the new Doctor’s trusty sonic screwdriver, but the BBC has since revealed first look images of the device, and they contain a hidden message written in The Doctor’s Gallifreyan language.

What is the sonic screwdriver?

The sonic screwdriver is a multifunctional tool made by the Time Lords in Doctor Who and carried by The Doctor on most of his adventures. Like the TARDIS, the Doctor’s sonic changes design with each regeneration.

It has the ability to unlock most doors, though famously doesn’t work on wood. It can also disarm weapons, synchronise with the TARDIS, shatter glass, create holograms, hack devices, and much more. Because of the many functions of the sonic, it was written out of the show at one point because it created obstacles for scriptwriters.

What does the 15th Doctor’s sonic screwdriver look like?

The BBC has revealed the new look for the 15th Doctor’s sonic, and it’s proved to be a controversial design choice. The new sonic is flatter with an hourglass shape, with some recogniseable Gallifreyan script on the top. It looks metallic and is blue, silver, and gold in colour, but looks like something you would open your car door with, rather than save the universe.

Indeed, fans of the show have expressed their opinion of the new gadget online, with many comparing it to a TV remote. Another fan took to X, posting: “15th Doctor sonic screwdriver really has that 90s/early 2000s portable music player aesthetic.”

But it’s the Gallifreyan text that provides the most interesting aspect to the new sonic - Ncuti explained that it translates into a Rwandan proverb: “the sharpness of the tongue defeats the sharpness of the warrior.”

How many Doctors have had a sonic screwdriver?

The First Doctor did not have a sonic screwdriver, or at least it never featured on screen - the device was first featured in the Second Doctor serial Fury from the Deep, in 1968. The Third Doctor also used a sonic, and it was more commonly deployed during the fourth and fifth Doctor’s tenures, but was destroyed in the fifth Doctor’s first season because the then John Nathan-Turner felt that the device allowed The Doctor to get out of any situation, making it difficult for scriptwriters to create threat.

The sonic remained destroyed throughout the rest of the classic series, meaning that the Sixth Doctor didn’t have one. When the 1996 Doctor Who movie came out, it was revealed that the Seventh Doctor had acquired a new sonic, which the Eighth Doctor used following his regeneration at the start of the film. The Doctor Who rebooted series in 2005 introduced the Ninth Doctor with a new sonic in hand, and every Doctor since has owned one since.