Russell Tovey to star in new Doctor Who spin-off series
Russell Tovey will star in Doctor Who spin-off The War Between The Land And The Sea. (Getty)
Russell Tovey is set to star in new Doctor Who spin-off, The War Between The Land And The Sea.
The gay actor will lead the new five-part series, which is created by Doctor Who showrunner and queer TV legend Russell T Davies, in a currently untitled role.
Years and Years star Tovey will feature alongside Loki‘s Gugu Mbatha-Raw in the action series, which is set to focus on Doctor Who’s military organisation, UNIT, who will be in a deadly battle with the Time Lord’s old foes, the Sea Devils.
“When a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered,” BBC’s official synopsis reads.
“With the entire population at risk, UNIT step into action as the land and sea wage war.”
Whovians will also see some familiar faces in the new series, with Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) playing the head of UNIT, and Colonel Christopher Ibrahim (Alexander Devrient), first seen in the 60th-anniversary special, “The Giggle” also returning.
Tovey, of course, appeared in the 2007 Christmas special “Voyage of the Damned” alongside Kyle Minogue. The Doctor later set up his character, Alonso Frame, on a date with Captain Jack Harkness.
“I’m so lucky to work with such a magnificent cast,” Davies said following the announcement over the weekend, at San Diego Comic Con.
“And this is a huge, muscular, thrilling drama which will shake The Whoniverse to its foundations. When the Doctor’s not in town, the whole of humanity is in trouble.”
The War Between The Land And The Sea will be co-written by Pete McTighe, and directed by Dylan Holmes Williams, who was at the helm of recent Doctor Who episodes “Dot and Bubble” and “73 Yards”.
There is currently no release date for the series, but it will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK, and on Disney+ internationally.
Tovey, who starred in the second season of Ryan Murphy’s Feud : Capote vs. The Swans, made waves over the weekend after revealing that he attended a Pet Shop Boys concert with The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal.
Sharing a photo of the pair on Instagram on Friday (26 July), Tovey wrote: “Your dads”, promptly sending the internet into a frenzy.
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