Rylan Clark has turned his hand to many things and now the singer turned presenter is set to make his Doctor Who debut which he says has been a dream role for him
Rylan Clark has landed a guest role as himself in the new series of Doctor Who, playing host to a space version of Eurovision called Interstellar Song Contest.
The Radio 2 presenter, 36, was revealed alongside a host of other guest stars in a new trailer for the second season of the BBC sci-fi show featuring Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th Doctor. Fans were given a first glimpse of Scottish actor Alan Cumming as the voice of villainous cartoon character Mr Ring-a-Ding.
Other guest stars glimpsed for the first time in the trailer alongside the Doctor and his new companion Belinda (Varada Seethu) are former favourites Anita Dobson as Mrs Flood, Bonnie Langford as Mel Bush, Jemma Redgrave as UNIT chief Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Ariyon Bakare who previously played the lion-like Leandro.
Also making new appearances were Slow Horses star Christopher Chung, French actress Julie Dray – star of C4’s Crashing – and World on Fire’s Jonah Hauer-King.
Rylan in his guest role for Doctor Who hosting a space version of Eurovision
Rylan, part of the BBC’s regular presenting team for Eurovision, said: “As a massive Whovian, getting the call to be in Doctor Who was a call I’ve always dreamed of getting. The episode is all my favourite things about the show with an added song contest set in space. It really is a dream come true. I can’t wait for everyone to see it. It is going to be out of this world.”
Julie said she had loved taking part in the Eurovision-themed special, which airs on May 17 alongside the real thing from Basel, Switzerland. “I had such an amazing time working alongside Rylan while wearing some beautiful prosthetics, and can’t wait for audiences to see the spectacular Interstellar Song Contest be brought to life. Voilà!”
Anita Dobson having fun at the Interstellar Song Contest in Doctor Who
The episode to tie-in with the action from Switzerland has been written by sci-fi author Juno Dawson, who said last month: “It’s the most ridiculous episode they’ve ever done – and the most expensive.”
Ariyon said he was thrilled to be back on the show playing a different character to Leandro, who appeared alongside Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor in 2015. “Returning to the Whoniverse for Season 2 is an absolute treat,” he said. “I can’t wait for everyone to see what we’ve created.”
Fans will be thrilled to see that veteran Doctor Who star Bonnie Langford is back as Mel Bush
The second series of the Disney-era Doctor Who launches on 12 April. The BBC said: “This spring, audiences will join The Doctor and Belinda Chandra on an epic quest to get Belinda back to Earth. But a mysterious force is stopping their return and the time-traveling TARDIS team must face great dangers, ferocious enemies and wilder terrors than ever before.”
