Over the years since Doctor Who returned to the Beeb back in 2005 the show has built up a reputation for picking out interesting guest cast members to bring its episodes to live and Series 9 looks like it’s going to be no different. The latest two confirmed stars are British comedian Rufus Hound and Game Of Thrones actress, Maisie Williams, who will both be taking part in this year’s outing for the sonic screwdriver totting Time Lord.
The news builds on the previous announcements about Michelle Gomez’s return as Missy for the 9th series of Doctor Who, and a raft of other guest stars previously confirmed. Following on from her nefarious part in Series 8 as the female incarnation of The Master, she’s going to be back with more trouble for Peter Capaldi’s Doctor Who right from the first episode.
Jemma Redgrave, Kelly Hunter, Clare Higgins, Jaye Griffiths, Daniel Hoffmann-Gill, Jami Reid-Quarrell, Aaron Neil, India Ria Amarteifio, Joey Price, Dasharn Anderson, Harki Bhambra and Demi Papaminas have all previously been announced as guest cast members too.
Doctor Who Series 9 will be making it’s way back to BBC 1 on the 19th September 2015 as it builds towards its inevitable Yuletide extravaganza, as was the case with 2014’s Last Christmas. With the added comedy and acting might of Rufus and Maisie behind it, there’s plenty to look forward to again in the upcoming series and you can check out the Doctor Who Series 9 teaser trailer to see things in action for yourself ahead of the series opener in September.
Lead writer and executive producer Stephen Moffatt commented that he was thrilled to have Maisie confirmed a guest role, which kind of implies that he might be a bit of a Game Of Thrones fan himself. However, he wasn’t able to give too much away about the part that she’s playing, but his cryptic references to it being a “who or what” situation kind of implies that she might go on to be an alien baddie. He added that Maisie was going to “challenge the Doctor in very unexpected ways. This time he might just be out of his depth, and we know Maisie is going to give him exactly the right sort of hell,” which backs up the theory a little.
For anyone not too familiar with Game Of Thrones, Maisie plays Arya Stark in the fantasy fiction drama series, which will premier its 5th series on the 12 April 2015. It’s not the first time the actress has taken a part in a British TV show as she previously starred in Channel 4’s Cyberbully. She’s also about to star as one of the leads in Carol Morley’s drama film, The Falling, which is due for release on the 24th April 2014.
Rufus Hound, on the other hand, is more well known for his random humour, so it’ll be interesting to see whether or not he’s cast in a comic role. If he’s as good as Frank Skinner and Ben Miller were in Series 8 then it should be a pretty cool Doctor Who outing for the mustachioed comedian.
A few other names have been added to the list of guest actors too, including BBC Three’s Siblings and CBBC’s Horrible Histories star Tom Stourton, along with Ariyon Bakare, Simon Lipkin, Ian Conningham, Murray McArthur, Barnaby Kay, John Voce, and Struan Rodger.
The BBC has also added in a few details about some of the episodes that will feature in Series 9 including two new period adventures as the Doctor and Clara continue to travel back in time. The first of these, The Girl Who Died, has been written by Jamie Mathieson and Steven Moffat, and the second, The Woman Who Lived, by Catherine Tregenna. Both episodes are being directed by Ed Bazalgette who’s previous work includes BBC One’s Poldark.
