At a Q&A following the screening of the Doctor Who Christmas special, Matt Lucas announced that “You’re stuck with me for a little bit,” confirming that he has joined Series 10 of Doctor Who as a companion.
Well, more of a “valet” than a companion, in Lucas’ words, but he and Peter Capaldi confirmed that we’ll have a three-man TARDIS crew.
“I’m there for a while,” he added, “but the nice thing was the first episode – and I assumed it was going to be my only episode – was last year [‘The Husbands Of River Song’], and I was a bit broader last year, and over the course of a series it allows you to explore more aspects of a character. So it’s been fun.”
He added that “You learn a little bit more about me and I’m a bit of a thorn in [the Doctor’s] side. I have a job to do, but I think you regret giving me that job.” Capaldi nodded sagely. “Big time,” he agreed.
Nardole, if you’ll remember, worked for River Song on a human colony in the far future, before having his head lopped off and stolen by King Hydroflax. Now with his body back, he has rejoined the Doctor in this year’s Christmas special, ‘The Return Of Doctor Mysterio’.
The last time the TARDIS had a three-man crew was back in the glory days of the 11th Doctor, Amy and Rory, so the 12th Doctor, Bill and Nardole have a lot to live up to. “It’s novel because Pearl [Mackie]plays a human in the show, and we [the Doctor and Nardole] are not. She grounds us. There’s something very contemporary about that character I think, and her performance.”
Capaldi agrees, adding that “Pearl’s fantastic and there’s a whole different kind of energy, because her character doesn’t know anything about the world of Doctor Who. So in a way it’s a reboot because we’re taking the series back to its roots, because essentially it is a mysterious stranger from out of space, with his time and space machine, whisking Bill off to corners of the universe to blow up monsters.”
Neither the cast nor Moffat would give much information about the upcoming Series 10 – Moffat’s last as showrunner – but Capaldi dropped one creepy hint about a monster that lies in store: “I think you should be very careful when you hear a creak. When you step on a floorboard and hear a creak. I think you should think twice about what the creak is. It may not just be a creak…”
Doctor Who: The Return Of Doctor Mysterio airs on BBC One on Christmas Day at 5.45pm, and Series 10 begins in 2017. For all the latest TV news, pick up the new issue of SciFiNow.
