IRISH actor Nicola Coughlan will star in a Doctor Who Christmas special which is due to air in the New Year the BBC has confirmed.
The Galway-born artist, who shot to fame for her performance as Claire Devlin in Lisa McGee’s Derry Girls, has rarely been off our screens since.
Having starred as Penelope Featherington in the regency-era hit series Bridgerton, she was more recently to be found on the silver screen as one of the Barbies in the blockbuster movie Barbie.
Now she finds starring herself alongside the fifteenth Doctor Ncuti Gatwa, something she said is an “absolute joy”.
Nicola Coughlan will star in the Doctor Who Christmas Special which is due to run in the New Year“I’m excited to join the Whoniverse under the leadership of the inimitable Russell T Davies,” she said this week, as the BBC released a first look image of Coughlan in her currently undisclosed role.
“I’ve been a fan of Ncuti Gatwa for some time and getting to share the screen with him as the Doctor has been an absolute joy,” she added.
And showrunner, Russell T Davies is just as happy to have Coughlan on board, he admits.
“This has been the most brilliant shoot, with Nicola lighting up the set and bringing joy,” he confirmed.
“From Derry, via Bridgerton, to the TARDIS, it’s the trip of a lifetime.”
Nicola Coughlan shot to fame as Clare Devlin in Derry GirlsDoctor Who returns in November 2023 with three special episodes with David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor to coincide with the 60th anniversary.
Ncuti Gatwa’s first episode as the Fifteenth Doctor will air over the festive period, with Coughlan due to appear in the Doctor Who Christmas special in early 2024.
Later next year she will star in the new Channel 4 comedy series Big Mood alongside Lydia West.
See More: Doctor Who, Nicola Coughlan
