Mark Gatiss to star in the Doctor Who Christmas special

The series writer is returning for his FOURTH role in the BBC sci-fi show

Published: Sunday, 23 July 2017 at 8:44 am

Penning series 10 episode The Empress of Mars wasn’t Mark Gatiss’s last contribution to Doctor Who after all: the writer and actor is set to star in this year's Christmas special alongside Peter Capaldi and David Bradley.

Ad

The news was confirmed rather casually as Gatiss partook in an interview with Empire magazine at Comic Con, alongside Capaldi and Steven Moffat. Watch the interview below: The news is revealed around the 11:30 mark.

Gatiss has also written ten episodes for the series since it returned to 2005 as well as creating 2013 “making-of” drama An Adventure in Space and Time, where he actually cast Bradley as First Doctor actor William Hartnell prior to his appearance as the Doctor himself in the main series this year.

But of course Gatiss’s most recent contribution to the Whoniverse was the aforementioned Ice Warrior episode Empress of Mars, which he had previously suggested could be the end of his Doctor Who career.

Want to see this content?

This page contains content provided by YouTube. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as YouTube may use cookies and other technologies. To view this content, choose 'Accept and continue' to allow YouTube and its required purposes.

Accept and continue

“I’ve no idea," he told RadioTimes.com a few months ago when asked whether he would continue writing for Doctor Who when new showrunner Chris Chibnall took over. "It’s a funny thing, an end of an era.

"Obviously working very closely with Steven I feel it more than when Russell [T Davies, previous showrunner on Doctor Who] left. I suppose there was more of a sense of continuity there, but I’ve no idea," he added.

“I’ve had a fantastic run on my favourite show, so if I don’t do anymore then I’m perfectly sanguine. But who knows?”

Who knows indeed – because clearly, longtime creative partner Steven Moffat (with whom Gatiss created fellow BBC series Sherlock and future project Dracula) couldn’t bear to write his last episode without having his old pal around in some form, giving Gatiss one last crack of the Whoniverse whip.

And even if this episode finally is the end of Gatiss’ Who experience, this new role will definitely make him one of the people with the longest and most complicated entries on the Doctor Who wiki page after the festive special airs – and in the end, isn’t that what it’s all about?

Main image courtesy Samy Kacimi (@Tardib)

Ad

Doctor Who will return to BBC1 this Christmas

Authors

Radio Times commissioning editor Huw Fullerton. He sits in front of a shelving unit, looking at the camera and smiling. He wears glasses and has a moustache

Huw FullertonCommissioning editor

Huw Fullerton is a commissioning editor for Radio Times magazine handling comedy, entertainment and specialist drama. In a previous regeneration, he covered all things sci-fi and fantasy for RadioTimes.com.

Ad

Ad

Get the Christmas double issue

Too much to watch at Christmas? Let Radio Times do the choosing to find something the whole family will enjoy.

Subscribe by 3 Dec

Loading...

Ad

Loading...