Doctor Who Is Resurrecting Osgood – Kinda!

Picture shows: Ingrid Oliver as Osgood. Doctor Who UNIT scientist Osgood, played by Ingrid Oliver, is back for series nine. ***Embargoed for publication until 13:00 BST Friday 8 May 2015***

In last season’s finale, The Doctor’s arch-nemesis, Missy (formerly The Master) casually killed his number one fan, Osgood. Osgood is well and truly dead, but as showrunner Steven Moffat points out, ‘…in a show about time travel, anything can happen. The brilliant Ingrid Oliver is back in action. This time though, can the Doctor trust his number one fan?”

Ingrid Oliver returns as Osgood in a two-part season nine Doctor Who adventure featuring the shapeshifting Zygons – last seen in the show’s 50th Anniversary episode, The Day of the Doctor. Follow the jump for more.

BBC AMERICA’S DOCTOR WHO ANNOUNCES DOUBLE TROUBLE AS OSGOOD TAKES ON THE TERRIFYING ZYGONS

UNIT scientist Osgood, played by Ingrid Oliver, returns to Doctor Who for season nine. Having been killed by Missy (Michelle Gomez) in the show’s season eight finale ‘Death in Heaven’, Steven Moffat decides to bring back the Doctor’s biggest fan.

Steven Moffat, lead writer and Executive Producer, said: “Osgood is back, fresh from her recent murder at the end of last series. We recently confirmed that Osgood was definitely dead and not returning – but in a show about time travel, anything can happen. The brilliant Ingrid Oliver is back in action. This time though, can the Doctor trust his number one fan?”

The last time we saw Osgood as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart’s assistant was with the Twelfth Doctor during an invasion of Earth by an army of Cybermen led by a new, female incarnation of the Master. This time she’s back in action and comes face-to-face with the shape-shifting extra-terrestrial Zygons, as they also return for the new season. They last appeared in ‘The Day of the Doctor’ for the show’s 50th anniversary episode.

Speaking on set, Ingrid Oliver commented on her reappearance: “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. The word ‘honour’ gets bandied about a lot, but it really is, it’s an honour. Especially because I was so sure Osgood was a gonner after the last series!”

The two-part episode is currently being filmed in Cardiff, Wales, and is written by Peter Harness (Doctor Who – ‘Kill the Moon’, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Wallander), produced by Peter Bennett and directed by Daniel Nettheim (Line of Duty, Glue).

Also joining Peter Capaldi (The Doctor) and Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald) and confirmed for guest roles in the double episode is Jemma Redgrave, Jaye Griffiths, Cleopatra Dickens, Sasha Dickens, Abhishek Singh, Todd Kramer, Jill Winternitz, Nicholas Asbury, Jack Parker and Aidan Cook.

Doctor Who is a BBC Cymru Wales production and season nine will be back on BBC AMERICA in autumn 2015. Further guest cast will be released over the coming months.

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BBC AMERICA delivers U.S. audiences high-quality, innovative and intelligent programming. Established in 1998, it has been the launch pad for talent embraced by American mainstream pop culture, including Ricky Gervais, Gordon Ramsay, Graham Norton, and successful programming formats including ground-breaking non-scripted television like Top Gear and top-rated science-fiction like Doctor Who. A joint venture between BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, and AMC Networks, BBC AMERICA has attracted both critical acclaim and major awards including four Emmy® Awards, five Golden Globes® and 12 Peabody Awards. The channel attracts one of cable’s most affluent and educated audiences and is available on cable and satellite TV in nearly 80 million homes. It broadcasts in both standard and high-definition, with content available On Demand across all major digital platforms. Online, www.BBCAmerica.com is the place to go to dig deeper into pop culture with a British twist. Find out more by visiting www.twitter.com/BBCAMERICA.

Photo of Ingrid Oliver courtesy of BBC Worldwide