Paul Kaye, the British star of It's All Gone Pete Tong, Blackball, Game of Thrones and, err, the BetVictor TV ads, is to star in the ninth season of Doctor Who, current filming in Cardiff. The show will return in Autumn this year, with Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman back as the Doctor and Clara.

Peter CapaldiBoth Peter Capaldi [L] and Jenna Coleman [R] will return for Doctor Who season 9

Kaye will play a character named Prentis and although plot details are being kept under wraps, the actor told Den of Geek: "As a kid of the 1970s, the two shows you always watched were Top of the Pops and Doctor Who, they were unmissable. I actually wrote a song called 'Looking for Davros' in my first punk band and I sang it like a demented Dalek.

"I got to present TOTP back in the mid 90's and landing this role in Doctor Who completes the dream double. Peter is a perfect Doctor and I'm loving every minute of the experience, even the five hours in make-up. What a treat, best 50th birthday present ever!"

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Joining Kaye in the new series, directed by Daniel O'Hara, is Morven Christie, Archer Ali, Steven Robertson, Sophie Stone and Neil Fingleton. Michelle Gomez is expected to return as Missy.

The first episode of season 9 is titled The Magician's Apprentice while a later episode, written by Toby Whithouse, will be a two-parter. 

Earlier this week, Doctor Who's director of photography Ali Asad tweeted that he was travelling to Spain on a "location recce for the DR". The island of Lanzarote stood in for the Moon during season 8, having previously been used as the location for Planet of Fire in 1984. 

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