Dame Diana Rigg & Racheal Stirling to Star in New Series!

The BBC have confirmed two new actresses are to appear in the next series of Doctor Who:

Mother and daughter Dame Diana Rigg and Rachael Stirling are set to star side by side in the BBC Wales drama Doctor Who, the first time the pair have ever worked together on screen.

Character details remain under wraps, but the episode penned by Mark Gatiss will see Dame Diana and Rachael recreate their off-screen relationship on-screen, as they play a mother and daughter with a dark secret.

Starring alongside the Doctor, Matt Smith and new companion Jenna-Louise Coleman, the episode will air on BBC One in 2013 and is directed by Saul Metzstein. Filming begins this week (2nd July) at Roath Lock Studios in Cardiff. 

Dame Diana Rigg, who will play a Yorkshire local, said: “The first time Rachie and I will be working together is on an episode of Doctor Who specially written for us by Mark Gatiss. How lucky is that?”

Rachael Stirling, on working on Doctor Who, said: “What joy. I am looking forward to the madness of Doctor Who enormously. Mark Gatiss has written a gift of a script and an on-screen relationship between Ma and I that is truly delicious. We have never before worked together because the offers have not been tempting, but when such a funny and original script comes through you know the time has come.”

Steven Moffat, executive producer and head writer on Doctor Who, said: “Dame Diana Rigg, Rachael Stirling and a Mark Gatiss script - a combination of talents you could only get in Doctor Who! Frankly, I'm terrified already!"

Doctor Who returns later this year to BBC One and BBC One HD. In other news: pictures from recent filming suggest that the Doctor Who character Jenny from A Good Man Goes to War will appear in the new series while the title of episode 11 is rumored to be (highlight to reveal spoiler) Phantoms of the Hex.