Kadiff Kirwan Gets A Chew To 'Doctor Who'

One more guest star revealed, with more news coming

It seems Doctor Who has been collecting quite a herd of guest stars for its upcoming season, which stars Ncuti Gatwa in his second as the Doctor, and Varada Sethu as his new companion Belinda Chandra, and premieres on the BBC and Disney+ on April 12. Having already revealed Slow Horses regular Christopher Chung to play Cassio in an episode, the show has now revealed that second and third season recurrer Kadiff Kirwan will be guest starring in an episode described as an “intergalactic escapade” and a “gargantuan extravaganza”.

Breaking out as Aaron in the comedy series Chewing Gum, Kirwan, in addition to having the aforementioned recurring role as Marcus Longridge has starred on This Is Going to Hurt, an episode of Black Mirror (anthology guest stars should be considered stars of their episodes for non-awards contexts), and guest starred on Fleabag, I May Destroy You, and Drunk History. His film roles are limited, but includes being the mayor in the 2019 Detective Pikachu movie, sandwiched between 2018’s Mary Queen of Scots and 2022’s My Policeman. He even has stage experience on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Hot Wing King.

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Kirwan glowed in his statement, saying “I feel elated to be joining the rich legacy of actors who have guest-starred in Doctor Who. Russell T Davies and Juno Dawson have truly outdone themselves with this episode in what I can only describe as an intergalactic gargantuan extravaganza. It’s packed with gravity-defying mastery beyond imagination, and being a part of it is an absolute dream. Strap in Whovians, this one is gonna rock your world!”

Now, if you’ve been following along and seen the trailers thus far, there’s only one episode that could really have the style and flair of an “extravaganza”: the space Eurovision episode “Interstellar Song Contest”. It’s the season’s sixth episode, the final adventure before the two-part finale, co-written by Dawson and showrunner Davies have co-written the sixth episode of the series which leads into the the two-part finale. The episode, which airs May 17, the day of the Eurovision Grand Final, features the 803rd edition of Interstellar Song Contest, hosted by Rylan as himself, and a feline alien named Sabine played by Julie Dray. Other guest stars include the returning Anita Dobson as Mrs. Flood and Freddie Fox as the episode’s horned alien villain.

Davies chimed in with his own quote saying “We’re so lucky in Cardiff to open the doors to world-class talent, and it’s been a riot, getting to work with Kadiff. I’ve loved his work on TV, and stage for a long time, so when we realised he was available and happy to come on board, that was truly a great day in the office!”

The new season sees a mysterious force get in the way of the Doctor bringing Belinda home, so instead they face great dangers, ferocious enemies and wilder terrors than ever before. It will feature appearances by last season’s companion Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson, while Michelle Greenidge returns as her adoptive mother Carla Sunday. This season’s other new guest stars include Alan Cumming as Mr. Ring-a-Ding, as well as Jonah Hauer-King as Ruby’s friend and Archie Panjabi as a villain, while Rose Ayling-Ellis appears in Chung’s episode. Other guest stars with unidentified include Caoilfhionn Dunne, Evelyn Miller, Ariyon Bakare. Other returnees include Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, Alexander Devrient as Colonel Ibrahim, Ruth Madeley as Shirley Anne Bingham, Bonnie Langford as Mel Bush, and Susan Twist as Susan Triad.

Doctor Who’s new season premieres Friday April 12, with an 8 AM iPlayer posting that amounts to a 3 AM Eastern / Midnight Pacific on Disney+ stateside.

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Sources: Doctor Who, Cultbox