It’s time to hop back in the Tardis — Season 2 of Ncuti Gatwa’s “Doctor Who” is right around the corner, and Alan Cumming is coming along for the ride.
Disney and the BBC revealed on Wednesday that a new adventure through time and space will premiere on April 12 at 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET on Disney+ in the U.S. and on BBC and BBC iPlayer in the U.K. From then on, new episodes in the eight-part season will air weekly.
Gatwa’s second season as the Doctor will see him joined by new companion Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu), as well as Season 1’s Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson). According to the new season’s synopsis, “The Doctor meets Belinda Chandra and begins an epic quest to get her back to Earth. But a mysterious force is stopping their return and the time-traveling TARDIS team must face great dangers, bigger enemies and wider terrors than ever before.”
“The Traitors” host Cumming is set to guest star in the season’s second episode as Mr. Ring-a-Ding, a “happy, funny, singalong cartoon who lives in Sunny Town with his friend Sunshine Sally,” a press release states. “However, in 1952, after years of repeats in cinemas across the land, Mr Ring-a-Ding suddenly looks beyond the screen and sees the real world outside — and the consequences are terrifying.” This marks Cumming’s return to the Whoniverse after previously playing King James I in the 2018 episode “The Witchfinders.”
Mr Ring-A-Ding (Alun Cumming)
BBC Studios/Disney/Bad Wolf
“Only Alan Cumming could give a runaway cartoon so much wit, malice, danger and fun,” showrunner, executive producer and writer Russell T Davies said. “He makes the whole universe of ‘Doctor Who’ wilder and madder than ever, and it’s an absolute honor to welcome him on board the TARDIS.”
Other previously announced guest stars include Rose Ayling-Ellis, Christopher Chung, Anita Dobson, Michelle Greenidge, Jonah Hauer-King, Ruth Madeley, Jemma Redgrave and Susan Twist. In addition to Davies, “Doctor Who” is executive produced by Joel Collins, Phil Collinson, Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter and produced by Bad Wolf, with BBC Studios for Disney Branded Television and BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
