They say in science fiction, no one is ever dead. That’s definitely true in “Doctor Who,” as proven in the latest news from the BBC America hit.
UNIT scientist Osgood, played by Ingrid Oliver, returns to the series in the upcoming Season 9, the network has confirmed.
“We recently confirmed that Osgood was definitely dead and not returning—but in a show about time travel, anything can happen,” said Steven Moffat, lead writer and executive producer. “The brilliant Ingrid Oliver is back in action. This time though, can the Doctor trust his No. 1 fan?”
Last time we saw Kate Lethbridge-Stewart’s assistant, she was helping the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi) battle both an army of Cybermen and Missy (Michelle Gomez), the female incarnation of the Master. Missy murdered her in the show’s Season 8 finale, “Death in Heaven.”
“As every actor who’s worked on ‘Doctor Who’ will tell you, there’s always the secret hope you’ll get the call asking you to come back. To actually receive that call is both unexpected and brilliant,” Oliver said from set. “The word ‘honor’ gets banded about a lot, but it really is, it’s an honor. Especially because I was so sure Osgood was a goner after the last series!”
Osgood comes face-to-face with the shape-shifting, extra-terrestrial Zygons in the new season, BBC America said in a release. (The Zygons last appeared in “The Day of the Doctor”—the 50th anniversary episode.)
Jenna Coleman returns as Clara Oswald and Jemma Redgrave stars once again as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart. Jaye Griffiths, Cleopatra Dickens, Sasha Dickens, Abhishek Singh, Todd Kramer, Jill Winternitz, Nicholas Asbury, Jack Parker and Aidan Cook also guest star in the double episode.
Osgood’s two-part episode is currently being filmed in Cardiff, Wales, and is written by Peter Harness, produced by Peter Bennett and directed by Daniel Nettheim.
BBC America previously announced “Game of Thrones” actress Maisie Williams will guest star in the new season, set to debut this fall.
“It’s not possible to say too much about who or what she’s playing, but she is going to challenge the Doctor in very unexpected ways,” Moffat said. “This time he might just be out of his depth, and we know Maisie is going to give him exactly the right sort of hell.”
Other get stars this season include “Cucumber” actor Rufus Hound, Tom Stourton, Ariyon Bakare, Simon Lipkin, Ian Conningham, Murray McArthur, Barnaby Kay, John Voce and Struan Rodger.
The season will include two period adventures: “The Girl Who Died,” written by Jamie Mathieson and Moffat, and “The Woman Who Lived,” written by Catherine Tregenna.
