Doctor Who: Aneurin Barnard joins cast as Jemma Redgrave returns

Aneurin Barnard joins the cast of the new series of Doctor Who to play the mysterious Roger ap Gwilliam. (BBC Studios/James Pardon)

Welsh actor Aneurin Barnard has joined the cast of Doctor Who ahead of the long-running sci-fi show’s 60th anniversary.

The news was confirmed by the official Doctor Who Twitter account which said that Barnard would be playing “the mysterious Roger ap Gwilliam”.

The Peaky Blinders actor was most recently seen in Netflix’s 1899 which was cancelled despite critical praise and high viewership.

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He has also starred in The Goldfinch, Dunkirk and SS-GB.

The BBC also confirmed the return of Jemma Redgrave to Doctor Who where she will reprise her role as Kate Stewart.

Jemma Redgrave reprises her role as Kate Stewart in the next series of Doctor Who. (BBC Studios/James Pardon)

She made her first appearance on the show in 2012 and has appeared intermittently ever since in Jodie Whittaker’s final episode The Power of the Doctor.

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Redgrave’s role in the upcoming specials will mean she has appeared in the show alongside four different iterations of the Doctor – Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, Jodie Whittaker and David Tennant who will play the fourteenth Doctor after also playing the tenth.

The Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials are expected to air this November with Tennant starring in three episodes before handing the role over to Ncuti Gatwa who has been cast as the fifteenth Doctor.

With Russell T Davies returning as showrunner, the specials also feature Catherine Tate reprising her role as Donna Noble.

Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson will star together in the new series of Doctor Who. (BBC/Lara Cornell)

The late Bernard Cribbins also filmed scenes for the show before he died last year while Jacqueline King and Karl Collins are also confirmed to reprise their roles as Sylvia Noble and Shaun Temple.

Neil Patrick Harris has also been cast, playing an undisclosed villain.

David Tennant in Doctor Who. (BBC)

On announcing his casting, Russell T Davies said: “It’s my huge honour to open our studio doors for the mighty Neil Patrick Harris… but who, why, what is he playing? You’ll just have to wait.

“But I promise you, the stuff we’re shooting now is off the scale. Doctor beware!”

Watch below: Billie Piper reacts to Russell T Davies returning to Doctor Who.