The BBC have revealed that Michelle Gomez will be reprising her role as Missy in the two-part premiere of the next series of Doctor Who, entitled The Magician's Apprentice, and The Witch's Familiar.

Writer Steven Moffat commented:

Michelle Gomez said:
The BBC website have also presented a video message from the actress:



The premiere will also see the return of Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, who appears alongside UNIT in the current block directed by Hettie MacDonald. The episodes will also feature Kelly Hunter (who previously played the Shadow Architect in The Stolen Earth), Clare Higgins (Ohila in The Night of the Doctor) and Jaye Griffiths (perhaps best remembered by sci-fi fans as Ros Henderson in Bugs).

Other guest stars appearing in the series include Daniel Hoffmann-Gill, Jami Reid-Quarrell, Aaron Neil, India Ria Amarteifio, Joey Price, Dasharn Anderson, Harki Bhambra, and Demi Papaminas.

The BBC has confirmed that filming has started on block 2 of the next series of Doctor Who, and that Hettie MacDonald will be returning to the directors chair for the session.

MacDonald previously directed the Weeping Angels’ debut in the 2007 story Blink.

Filming for the new series started in Cardiff in January and the Doctor and Clara will be back in the Autumn.

The BBC has released details for Series Nine of Doctor Who, which began filming in Cardiff at the start of last week.

The episodes currently being filmed are written by Toby Whithouse whose first worked on the series in 2006, when he wrote School Reunion, the story which saw the reintroduction of Sarah Jane Smith and K-9 into the series. He also wrote The Vampires of Venice, The God Complex and A Town Called Mercy for the Eleventh Doctor, as well as an episode of Torchwood.

Steven Moffat, lead writer and Executive Producer, said,On set filming for the new series, Peter Capaldi addedJoining the Doctor and Clara in the story will be Paul Kaye who is known for playing Thoros of Myr in the third series of Game of Thrones. In the 1990's he was better known for creating Dennis Pennis, the shock interviewer who ambushed celebrities with bizarre questions. Kaye is also well-known for being the voice of Vincent the fox on the puppet-based BBC comedy Mongrels.

Commenting on his role, Paul Kaye, saidAlso starring in the episodes will be Morven Christie who recently played the role of Amanda in the crime drama Grantchester and featured in Death in Paradise (2014) and Twenty Twelve.

Other guest artists in the story include Arsher Ali who played the part of Malik Suri in the critically acclaimed The Missing (BBC One) and Colin McFarlane who appeared in EastEnders as part of the Who Killed Lucy Beale? storyline. McFarlane provided an alien voice in the 2007 Christmas story Voyage of the Damned as well as appearing in Torchwood: Children of Earth.

Actress Sophie Stone also appears in the show for the first time. Stone was the lead actress in the play Woman of Flowers and has appeared in Midsummer Murders and Casualty. Also confirmed for roles in the double episode are Zaqi Ismail, Steven Robertson and Neil Fingleton.

While filming continues in Cardiff, plans are underway for location filming later in the series, with the show heading back to Spain according to a tweet from Director of photography Ali Asad. Last year's episode Kill The Moon was filmed on the Spanish island of Lanzarote, as was the 1984 story Planet of Fire. Spain has also been used for location work for The Two Doctors, Asylum of the Daleks and A Town Called Mercy.

The new series will be back in Autumn 2015.

This items contains spoilers from the Christmas Special

The BBC has confirmed that Jenna Coleman will be staying with Doctor Who for the foreseeable future, with the actress signed up for the entire run of Series Nine.

The confirmation follows speculation that Coleman would leave the series after the Christmas special, Last Christmas, or part way through the next series. Head writer Steven Moffat told an invited audience at the Press Screening for Last Christmas that he was delighted the actress was staying with the show, although he admitted it was touch and go for a while. Coleman said she was delighted to be stayingDoctor Who Season 35 begins shooting in January.

The BBC has revealed the title of the first episode of the next series of Doctor Who will be The Magician’s Apprentice.

The name was revealed by showrunner Steven Moffat at the press screening of Last Christmas held at the BFI in London last night.

The series, the thirty-fifth in the show's history, and the ninth since the series returned in 2005, begins filming in early January.