Doctor Who has been off our screens for nearly a whole year, but thankfully it’s almost time for the annual Christmas special.
However, despite being less than 3 weeks away, there’s still a lot we don’t yet know about the festive episode. The Return of Doctor Mysterio remains an intriguing and exciting story. But one thing we can be certain of is a prolific cast of characters for an out-of-this-world Christmas Day!
Join us as we introduce the super men and super women who will be taking centre stage in this year’s heroic adventure…
Peter Capaldi as The Twelfth Doctor
Surely this man needs no introduction! The actor formerly known for playing Malcolm Tucker returns for his third Christmas special as The Twelfth Doctor. Attack eyebrows at the ready, Capaldi has been in control of the TARDIS since The Eleventh Doctor’s regeneration in The Time of the Doctor, followed by his full debut episode Deep Breath. This will mark the lead into his third full series in the title role of Doctor Who in 2017.
Now without a regular companion (until next year, anyway!), Capaldi’s Doctor finds himself in New York this Christmas – and about to encounter a cryptic caped crusader…
Matt Lucas as Nardole
Surprise! An unexpected returning guest in this year’s special is Matt Lucas, reprising his role as Nardole from last Christmas (by which we mean last Christmas, not Last Christmas…!). First seen as the bobble-headed comic relief in The Husbands of River Song, a whole new journey awaits him as he joins Capaldi’s Doctor throughout Series 10. How and why he got his body back though is just one question we have about his character!
Outside of Doctor Who, Matt Lucas is famous for his comedy work with David Walliams, who starred in Series 6 episode The God Complex. Matt has enjoyed enormous success with his sketch shows Little Britain and Come Fly With Me, and he also starred alongside Peter Capaldi in 2014 family film Paddington.
Matt is one of the very few guest stars to have appeared in more than one Doctor Who Christmas special, outclassed only by Dan Starkey’s record of four appearances.
Charity Wakefield as Lucy Fletcher
Charity Wakefield is an English actress who began her television career in 2004. Her previous credits include Sense & Sensibility, Casualty 1907 and Agatha Christie’s Marple. In 2015 she played a Mary Boleyn in the award-winning BBC drama Wolf Hall as well having a major role in US show The Player.
In The Return of Doctor Mysterio, Wakefield plays Lucy Fletcher, an investigate journalist who’s keen to get to the bottom of some strange happenings in Manhattan…
Justin Chatwin as Grant/The Ghost
This year’s big name guest star is Canadian actor Justin Chatwin, who plays Grant (and his alter-ego, The Ghost). He’s certainly no stranger to superheroes – his first TV role was in Superman origin story Smallville. It proved to be a successful debut, as he’s since gone in to star in other popular shows such as Shameless, Orphan Black, and American Gothic.
And that’s not all – Chatwin has experience of dealing with aliens in the world of film, having starred in 2005 blockbuster War of the Worlds. We reckon he’ll be quite a capable ally for The Doctor. Oh, and he even played Goku in 2009’s Dragonball Evolution!
A younger version of Grant will be played by newcomer Logan Hoffman.
Adetomiwa Edun
Adetomiwa Edun is a British actor of Nigerian and Ghanaian origin. He’ll be best known to BBC audiences as Sir Elyan from Merlin, where he starred alongside Colin Morgan from Series 4 episode Midnight – and of course John Hurt, The War Doctor first glimpsed in The Name of the Doctor and The Day of the Doctor. Other TV roles include Law & Order: UK, Bates Motel, Lucifer, and Death in Paradise.
Edun plays the mysterious Mr Brock. Mysterious because we no nothing about his part in the special. There does appear to be a connection with Dr. Sim however and the severe scare they both wear across their faces.
Aleksandar Jovanovic as Dr. Sim
Last but by no means least, German-born actor Aleksandr Jovanovic is starring as the suspicious Dr. Sim. Jovanovic may not be a familiar name to many readers as he has predominantly starred in German television and film over the past two decades.
His villainous role in this year’s Doctor Who will serve as a valuable source of exposure for Jovanovic, who is also set to star in 2017 film Collide alongside Felicity Jones (from Series 4 episode The Unicorn and the Wasp and star of the upcoming Rouge One: A Star Wars Story) as well as British acting legends Anthony Hopkins and Ben Kingsley.
Catch ‘The Return of Doctor Mysterio’ on Christmas Day on BBC One at 5:45pm and on BBC America at 8/9c.
Synopsis
In this year’s Xmas special, The Doctor join forces with a masked Superhero for an epic New York adventure.
With brain-swapping aliens poised to attack, the Doctor and Nardole link up with an investigative reporter and a mysterious figure known only as The Ghost. Can the Doctor save Manhattan? And what will be revealed when we see behind the mask?
The 60-minute special is written by Steven Moffat, Executive Produced by Brian Minchin, Produced by Peter Bennett and Directed by Ed Bazalgette (Poldark). It was shot in Cardiff at BBC Wales Roath Lock Studios.
