BBC has confirmed (via SFFGazette.com) that Jemma Redgrave will return as Kate Stewart in this year's Doctor Who episodes. This news is sure to be welcomed by fans, and it adds some always-appreciated connective tissue to previous seasons in which the actress played the head of scientific research at UNIT.
Another noteworthy addition to the cast is Welsh actor Aneurin Barnard (best known for his work in Peaky Blinders and 1899) as Roger ap Gwilliam.
"UNIT returns! Jemma Redgrave returns as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, and UNIT, the long-running organisation set on defending the Earth, returns in the next series of [Doctor Who]," reads the official announcement. "Aneurin Barnard also joins the series as the mysterious Roger ap Gwilliam."
Set photos have previously hinted that Gwilliam is a politician tied to the mysterious Albion Party that's campaigning for a "Bigger, Better, Bolder Britain."
On another note, in the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine, returning Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies actually addressed reports that the series has been given a whopping $10 million budget following BBC's deal with Disney+.
"That has been exaggerated. If that was the budget, I'd be speaking to you from my base on the moon," he explained. "That is not the budget, and I worry that misinformation like that creates false expectation. Nonetheless, we have a lovely, handsome budget, and we're very happy with how we're proceeding with it."
Doctor Who is set to return this November for three specials with David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor, while Gatwa assumes the role over Christmas 2023.
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