Doctor Who:...???

 

Since Peal Mackie's casting announcement there's been little to no news on production of Series 10 of Doctor Who. Today we got a lot of new information at once. The headline being that Matt Lucas will be reprising the role of Nardole from The Husbands of River Song and this time he will be a regular character.

With his departure iminent, has Steven Moffat gone a little bit madder? Of all the new characters to appear in the modern series, I can't pretend that Nardole was one I particularly wanted to come back. I like Matt Lucas but the character he played didn't really stand out as anything special. I suppose that could be the point. Perhaps Moffat felt that Matt Lucas had been underused and decided to give him a better developed role. Who knows.  It's hard to say how Nardole will change now he is a regular character. Will he simply be a comic relief character like Strax? Or whether he will be a more layered individual? Time will tell.

The more exciting news is that some of the writers and directors have been announced. Apart from Steven Moffat, the other returning writers are Frank Cottrell Boyce and Sarah Dollard. While In the Forest of the Night had its faults I'm willing to see if Frank has done better this time around. Sarah Dollard's return is certainly a welcome one. Face the Raven was a highlight in the last series, so I'm quite interested in what new ideas she'll bring with her.

We also have a new writer in the form of Mike Bartlett who wrote the well recieved BBC drama, Doctor Foster. That's a pretty good creditfor a writer and I'm excited to see what this new writer does.

While I can't say I'm particularly happy or unhappy for Nardole's return, the writer news is exciting enough and hopefully Series ten will be good. Filming is supposed to begin next week so let's see.