Doctor Who showrunner, lead writer, and executive producer Steven Moffat said it best. “… quite frankly, it’s about time Ben Miller was in Doctor Who!”
That, in a nutshell (or, if you prefer, a police call box), sums up the ace move of the day by the BBC, which announced that Ben Miller will guest star opposite Peter Capaldi when the new series of Doctor Who returns this autumn.
According to Moffat, “Mark Gatiss has written us a storming villain for his new episode, and with Capaldi in the TARDIS, we knew we needed somebody special to send everybody behind the sofa.”
And that somebody is Miller, whom we haven’t seen on telly since he made his final appearance as DI Richard Poole in the hit BBC mystery, Death in Paradise, earlier this year.
Said Miller about his new role: “As a committed Whovian I cannot believe my luck in joining the Twelfth Doctor for one of his inaugural adventures. My only worry is that they’ll make me leave the set when I’m not filming.”
(Nah.)
As the other half of the Armstrong and Miller comedy duo that brought him his initial fame, Miller has been recognized for his talent in both comedies and dramas, including Death in Paradise, sitcom The Worst Week of My Life, and the sci-fi series Primeval.
Miller is the latest to join the guest star roster of the upcoming Doctor Who series, which already includes Tom Riley (Da Vinci’s Demons, Monroe) and Keeley Hawes (Line of Duty, Ashes to Ashes).
The eighth reboot series of Doctor Who will transmit on BBC One in the UK and BBC America in the US later this year.
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