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‘Doctor Who’ Actor Lands Recurring Role On Spin-Off Series ‘Class’

By Ny MaGee
Published on: 12:23 PST, Apr 20, 2016

The cast for the new Doctor Who spin-off series Class, is primarily composed of newcomers Greg Austin, Fady Elsayed, Sophie Hopkins, and Vivian Oparah. Their teacher will be played by Happy Valley’s Katherine Kelly, and she’s described as a “powerful new presence at Coal Hill School.” A new member of the cast has been announced, and he’s sure to be a fun twist to the highly anticipated series. Doctor Who alum Paul Marc Davis has won a recurring role on the show, and he’s the only actor – so far – to appear in the hit science fiction show as well as all of its spin-offs.

Whovians may recall Paul as the Futurekind Chieftain in a Season 3 episode of Who, he has also appeared in the two existing spin-offs, Torchwood – which aired Four series between 2006 and 2011 on the BBC, and The Sarah Jane Adventures – which aired on the BBC from 2007 through 2011. Cinema Blend notes that the details of Paul’s role on Class have not been revealed, but he will appear in several episodes.

Class will be set in contemporary London and will follow the four students are they face their own challenges while attending Coal Hill School. The first two spin-offs starred adult companions from past seasons of Doctor Who, while Class will be a young adult series with a familiar Whovian twist: the walls of space and time are breaking down around Coal Hill after all the time traveling that’s happened there. As a result, dark forces are pressing to pass through the vulnerable walls of Coral Hill and into the students. It is expected that Twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi, will make an appearance on the series.

The school has been featured several times on Doctor Who. It was first visited in 1963 with the first Doctor, (William Hartnell – in the photo above with four miniature model Daleks – arch enemies of the Doctor). It was visited again in “Remembrance of the Daleks” in 1988. More recently, it appeared in the 50th anniversary episode, where Clara Oswald is teaching during her time off from exploring the cosmos with Eleven.

Executive producer Steven Moffat has said of his new series, “Class is dark and sexy and right now. I’ve always wondered if there could be a British Buffy – it’s taken the brilliant Patrick Ness to figure out how to make it happen.”

The BBC shared the following teaser about Class:

“Time has looked at your faces now. And time never forgets…
What if your planet was massacred and you were the sole survivor?
What if a legendary figure out of space and time found you a place to hide?
But what if the things that want to kill you have tracked you down?
And worst of all, what if you haven’t studied for your A-Levels…?”

READ RELATED STORY: Doctor Who Universe Expanding With Young-Adult Spinoff Series Class

Award-winning YA writer and Class creator Patrick Ness, says, “We searched far and wide for this amazing cast, fantastic actors who understand what we’re aiming for with this show. And how lucky we are to get Katherine Kelly! She’s been stunning in Happy Valley, The Night Manager and Mr Selfridge, just wait until you see her here.”

Class will air on BBC Three in the UK and BBC America. No premiere date has been announced.

In related news, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the iconic Doctor Who cyborgs, the Cybermen, and BBC Worldwide North America and Titan Comics are celebrating with one of its biggest crossovers yet!

Titan’s ongoing Doctor Who summer comic event series will feature Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston), Tenth Doctor (David Tennant), Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith), and Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi), as well as their comic companions, in a “spectacular five-part, bi-weekly adventure featuring one of the Doctor’s most iconic foes – the Cybermen!,” according to a press release. The comic, entitled Supremacy of the Cybermen, will be available in stores and on digital July 6 and “supported by Titan’s third annual Doctor Who Comics Day event” on July 9, 2016.

Check out the comic covers below.

Doctor Who Series 10 will premiere in Spring 2017, with the Christmas special airing later this year. Peter Capaldi has confirmed that he and his new female companion have already begun working together.

[Image courtesy Chris Ware/Keystone Features/Getty Images]

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