{"id":1057,"date":"2025-02-26T15:10:20","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T16:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/?p=1057"},"modified":"2025-02-26T18:39:53","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T18:39:53","slug":"doctor-who-is-madder-than-ever-as-the-traitors-legend-joins-cast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/26\/doctor-who-is-madder-than-ever-as-the-traitors-legend-joins-cast\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Who is \u2018madder than ever\u2019 as The Traitors legend joins cast"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\"Ncuti\t<\/div>
Ncuti Gatwa is returning for a thrilling second season of Doctor Who very soon (Picture: BBC Studios\/Disney\/Bad Wolf\/James Pardon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Doctor Who<\/a> is promising to be ‘madder than ever’ as a surprising TV legend is joining the cast.<\/p>\n

Ncuti Gatwa<\/a> is returning as The Fifteenth Doctor for a beloved second season, with a release date finally revealed to be April 12.<\/p>\n

Joining him, Ruby Sunday (played by Millie Gibson<\/a>) and Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu<\/a>) will be Emmy<\/a> award-winning actor and the host of The Traitors<\/a> US, Alan Cumming<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Scottish star, 60, will feature in the second episode as Mr Ring-a-Ding, ‘a happy, funny, singalong cartoon, who lives in Sunny Town with his friend Sunshine Sally’.<\/p>\n

His world is about to turn upside down though with a terrifying awakening of the real world behind the screens he’s surrounded by.<\/p>\n

The plot teases: ‘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.’<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"The\t<\/div>
The Traitors US host Alan Cumming will be playing Mr Ring-a-Ding (Picture: BBC\/Studio Lambert\/Peacock\/Euan Cherry)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Showrunner Russell T Davies<\/a> said: ‘Only Alan Cumming could give a runaway cartoon so much wit, malice, danger and fun.<\/p>\n

‘He makes the whole universe of Doctor Who wilder and madder than ever, and it\u2019s an absolute honour to welcome him on board the TARDIS.’<\/p>\n

The new season also guest stars Strictly Come Dancing winner Rose Ayling-Ellis<\/a>, Anita Dobson, Christopher Chung, Michelle Greenidge, Jonah Hauer-King, Ruth Madeley, Jemma Redgrave, and Susan Twist.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Ncuti\t<\/div>
Ncuti will be joined by Varada Sethu and Millie Gibson (Picture: James Pardon\/Bad Wolf\/BBC Studios\/PA Wire)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A teaser for the second season<\/a> dropped just after Christmas last year, leaving fans blown away as it began with Ncuti’s character saying ‘There are forces beyond this universe,\u2019 before offering a glimpse of the terrifying villains yet to come.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s all a game to them, but the games are deadly,\u2019 the narration continued, before giving a first look at Varada as the Doctor’s companion for season two.<\/p>\n

The synopsis teased: ‘The Doctor meets Belinda Chandra and begins an epic quest to get her back to Earth.<\/p>\n

\u2018But a mysterious force is stopping their return and the time-travelling TARDIS team must face great dangers, ferocious enemies and wilder terrors than ever before.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t{“@context”:”https:\/\/schema.org”,”@type”:”VideoObject”,”name”:”Metro.co.uk”,”duration”:”T25S”,”thumbnailUrl”:”https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2024\/12\/26\/10\/93491579-0-image-m-8_1735207460208.jpg”,”uploadDate”:”2024-12-26T10:03:15+0000″,”description”:”The Doctor will be back with new friends, rivals and enemies.”,”contentUrl”:”https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2024\/12\/26\/7683442017344404434\/480x270_MP4_7683442017344404434.mp4″,”height”:270,”width”:480}<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tbrowser that
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsupports HTML5
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvideo<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t<\/video>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n

Up Next<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrevious Page<\/title>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__page\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__page\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__page\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__page\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__arrow metro-related-video-carousel__arrow--right disabled\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<title>Next Page<\/title>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-videos-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\twindow.addEventListener(‘metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded’, function(data) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tif (typeof(data.detail) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === ‘undefined’) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\treturn;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t}<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar player = data.detail.carousel.el_;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar container = player.closest(‘.metro-video-player’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar placeholder = container.querySelector(‘.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tcontainer.removeChild(placeholder);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tcontainer.classList.add(‘metro-video-player–related-videos-loaded’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t});<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The latest release date announcement comes after reports Sex Education star Ncuti, 23, <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/02\/17\/doctor-star-ncuti-gatwa-sparks-fears-quit-just-two-series-22577421\/\">sparked fears he was leaving the show<\/a> and planned to move to the US, with David Tennant tipped to make a comeback – though he confirmed his time as the Doctor was well and truly over in May 2024, saying: ‘David is parked and retired and it\u2019s all Ncuti\u2019s show now.’<\/p>\n<p>A source had told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/tv\/33425340\/doctor-who-axe-ncuti-gatwa-quits-bbc\/\">The Sun<\/a>: \u2018Ncuti doesn\u2019t want to be tied to the series beyond this and plans to relocate to Los Angeles with several Hollywood projects standing by for him.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018His team also sees a lot of fan backlash from the series and doesn\u2019t want the perception of him still being The Doctor to get in the way of any future work.\u2019<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/SEI_233533135-90ef.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22532203\" alt=\"Doctor Who Christmas Special 2024,25-12-2024,Joy To The World,Joy To The World,The Doctor (NCUTI GATWA),BBC Studios\/Bad Wolf,Lara Cornell\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>There are rumours Ncuti may be leaving Doctor Who (Picture: BBC Studios\/Lara Cornell)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The reports come just months after Ncuti himself confirmed he would be <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2024\/10\/12\/doctor-star-ncuti-gatwa-reveals-major-news-shows-future-21783817\/\">returning for a third series<\/a> ahead of the Christmas special.<\/p>\n<p>It had initially been claimed that Doctor Who itself was facing the axe after 62 years on screens.<\/p>\n<p>However, a BBC spokesperson has confirmed to <strong>Metro <\/strong>that such rumours are \u2018incorrect\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Doctor Who has not been shelved,\u2019 they said.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018As we have previously stated, the decision on season 3 will be made after season 2 airs.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The deal with Disney+ was for 26 episodes \u2013 and exactly half of those still have to transmit.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Ncuti\u2019s future as the Doctor does remain unclear though, as the BBC added: \u2018As for the rest, we never comment on the Doctor and future storylines.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Doctor Who returns to BBC and Disney+ on April 12, 2025.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Got a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\">Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/submit-stuff\/\">Submit Stuff<\/a> page – we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ncuti Gatwa is returning for a thrilling second season of Doctor Who very soon (Picture: BBC Studios\/Disney\/Bad Wolf\/James Pardon) Doctor Who is promising to be ‘madder than ever’ as a<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/26\/doctor-who-is-madder-than-ever-as-the-traitors-legend-joins-cast\/\" class=\"readmore\">Continue reading<svg class=\"icon icon-arrow-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"img\"> <use href=\"#icon-arrow-right\" xlink:href=\"#icon-arrow-right\"><\/use> <\/svg><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Doctor Who is \u2018madder than ever\u2019 as The Traitors legend joins cast<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1057"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1057"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1057\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1064,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1057\/revisions\/1064"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pilotshopworld.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}