Doctor Who always makes a point of filling guest roles both big and small with a great cast, especially at Christmas. Joy to the World is now different, adding Joel Fry to the Whoniverse as the Time Hotel’s Trev Simpkins.

Fry has been a consistently in demand actor in the UK for almost two decades. Over that time he’s enjoyed main roles in both comedy and drama series. These days, viewers probably know him best as a main cast member in Our Flag Means Death. Extremely loosely based on the life of notorious pirate Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby), Our Flag Means Death features Joel Fry as Frenchie. The singing pirate is originally a member of the Revenge’s crew. But later he becomes first mate to Stede’s on-again/off-again boyfriend Blackbeard (Taika Waititi). He’s also a key part of the charm of HBO Max’s wildly imaginative romcom adventure series.

Fry has been in almost constant work, moving from project to project seamlessly, though never choosing to stay on even longer running series for more than a few seasons

Joel Fry’s history of such roles goes all the way back to 2008 and short lived BBC Three sitcom Massive. It may have been take place in modern day Manchester as a group of friends quit their day jobs to become record producers, rather than on the 18th century high seas where a man quits his day job to become a pirate. But Fry’s character Swing was still a musically gifted friend of the central character. One who again regularly punctuated the comedy with his music. Two seasons of White Van Man swiftly followed, featuring a pair of ne’er do well handymen with Fry’s denser Darren the source of many of their comedy troubles.

Next came the far more successful Trollied. For the first three seasons Fry was Leighton, one of the supermarket workers trapped between irrational customers and even more unhinged managers.  Fry then added Plebs to his CV, where his Stylax was one of a pair of very modern Ancient Roman flatmates. Fry again left the series at its most popular after three seasons.

He was yet again one of a pair of comedy flatmates as Dave Bosley in You, Me and the Apocalypse. In the Sky series it’s the final days of planet Earth as a comet speeds towards it on a collision course. But Dave’s flatmate (Ghosts’ Matthew Baynton) might just be the literal Second Coming and the only hope of averting Armageddon. Together they and others set off an odyssey to find a way to survive as society collapses around them. Despite the heavy subject matter, Fry’s wry delivery is a key part of striking the balance between darkness and humour.

Moving between the inane PR team of W1A to the blood drenched fighting pits of Game of Thrones proves Fry’s versatility

Despite a succession of sitcom best friend roles, Fry has escaped typecasting. He’s equally at home in heavy drama miniseries, from Public Enemies to Ordinary Lies. But perhaps his most significant dramatic role was in Game of Thrones as Hizdahr zo Loraq. One of the former so-called ‘Wise Masters’ of Meereen, he attempts to be a bridge between the old values of the city previously built on slavery and the brave new world of ‘breaker of chains,’ Queen Daenerys Targaryen. Becoming her consort ends about as well for him as you’d expect. All the same, lasting two seasons is a show as notoriously murderous as Game of Thrones is quite an accomplishment.

One of his most notable smaller roles was as ‘Karl Marx’ one of the band of inept PR consultants led by Siobhan Sharpe (Human Nature’s Jessica Hynes) in the David Tennant narrated series Twenty Twelve and W1A.

On the big screen meanwhile, he’s mainly appeared in small roles. These have often been the type requiring the actor’s natural charisma to make an impression with audiences through brief, straightforward moments. Roles like these include Postman Joe in the three Paddington movies. But there have been bigger parts too, like Jasper, the sidekick to Emma Stone’s Cruella.

Fry’s Trev is about to have his workplace turned upside down when the Doctor checks in, but will he ultimately be friend or foe?

For Joy to the World, Joel Fry steps into the smart shoes of Trev Simpkins. From what we’ve already seen in trailers, it seems clear that Trev will be the latest in the long line of people bamboozled into telling the Doctor more than they should. It’s the sort of role that’s Fry’s perfect for, allowing him to charm and amuse in equal measure.

But even though he works for Villengard’s Time Hotel, is he aware of its true evil purpose? Or does he simply think no further than delivering the next ham and cheese toastie and pumpkin latte to the guests? Will he be a further obstacle to the Doctor, or perhaps even a last minute source of aid?

We only have to wait until tomorrow to find out.