Ryan revealed himself to be dyspraxic in tonight’s episode (Picture: BBC)

Doctor Who fans have praised the show for the heart-breaking frustration behind Ryan Sinclair’s dyspraxia.

The 19-year-old, played by Tosin Cole, is seen discussing on his YouTube channel the difficulties he faces day-to-day with the learning disability, such as still not being able to ride a bike.

His disability causes him to lash out in anger, and he admits that he thinks his nan won’t be ‘proud’ of him without him achieving the small things.

Ryan was seen getting frustrated because he couldn’t ride a bike (Picture: BBC)

Dyspraxia is a developmental co-ordination disorder, meaning that those who have it often move more clumsily than expected in people their age, and find it difficult to learn skills that require co-ordination.




As children, it often means it takes more time to learn how to walk and feed themselves.

Ryan is seen struggling with the disorder and certain skills that he is aiming to achieve. Over the course of tonight’s episode, he was seen overcoming his fears and helping out the Doctor with her mission.

The gang is now all together to take on time and space (Picture: BBC)

In the biggest leap of faith in the Doctor he could show, he’s seen stumbling, but succeeding, in climbing up a crane and almost slipping with the effort.

Viewers of the show took to Twitter to comment on the common, but not well-known, condition, and thanked the series for bringing it to the forefront in such a prominent way.

@bbcdoctorwho having a dyspraxic character means so much to me. I have Dyspraxia and it makes me so happy to know that they’ve given dyspraxic’s representation. #DoctorWho — Pavel Chekov (@EnsignPAChekov) October 7, 2018

Ryan Sinclair is the best thing to happen to the representation of Dyspraxia in mainsteam media. Bravo @bbcdoctorwho #DoctorWho #Dyspraxia18 — Simon Antink (@SimonAntink) October 7, 2018

Well #DoctorWho you absolutely rock. Particularly like the well considered portrayal of #dyspraxia

the frustration, self esteem and the strengths. Looking forward to how Ryan develops as a character. Jodie Whittaker is superb in confidence and presence. — Becki Morris (@BecksM36) October 7, 2018

First female Doctor and Ryan has Dyspraxia! This episode of Doctor Who has made this single Mum of a kid with dyspraxia night! #DoctorWho #dyspraxia — Stacey Conlan (@lastak11) October 7, 2018

Speaking to press including Metro.co.uk, new showrunner Chris Chibnall, whose own nephew suffers from dyspraxia, explained his decision to confront the issue and said: ‘We did a lot of research into that, we worked with the Dyspraxia Foundation… it was important, because people live with these things.

‘It’s a relatively common thing among kids, so I think it’s important to see that heroes come in all shapes and sizes. That’s the most important thing about Doctor Who and you will see that [idea] happen a lot across this year.’

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By the end of the episode, Ryan has become a fully-fledged companion after The Doctor, alongside his step-grandad Graham, and his old school friend Yaz.

Only one episode in, and we already have a lot of questions – starting with where on Earth is the TARDIS and how are they going to get out of space without dying?

Doctor Who continues next week on BBC1.

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