Michelle Gomez arrives in Cardiff this week to rejoin the Doctor Who cast and reclaim the role of ‘Missy’ for series 9.

She joins Peter Capaldi (The Doctor) and Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald) for the opening episode of the series.

Speaking in Cardiff, Michelle Gomez says: “Things have been a little beige since I left Missy behind, so I’m delighted to be putting my lippie back on. I’m positively dying to see The Doctor again!”

The second two-part episode to be filmed, The Magician’s Apprentice and The Witch’s Familiar, is written by the show’s lead writer Steven Moffat, produced by Peter Bennett and directed by Hettie Macdonald (Blink, the Hugo Award-winning Doctor Who episode).

Steven Moffat, lead writer and Executive Producer, says: “Everybody hide – Michelle Gomez as Missy was an instant hit last year, so she’s straight back to plague the Doctor and Clara in the series opener. But what brings her back into their lives is the last thing they’d expect.”

Having filmed Day of the Doctor in the series’ 50th anniversary special and Dark Water and Death in Heaven in series 8, Jemma Redgrave returns to the guest cast for series 9, alongside the Laurence Olivier Award nominee and film, television, radio and stage actress Kelly Hunter.

A familiar theatre and television actress and one of the UK’s most proficient performers, Clare Higgins also joins the guest cast for the opening of the series. Jaye Griffiths has been gracing our screens in some of the nation’s favourite TV programmes such as Silent Witness and Casualty and also takes up a guest role in the opening episode.

Other guest stars confirmed for the new series include Daniel Hoffmann-Gill, Jami Reid-Quarrell, Aaron Neil, India Ria Amarteifio, Joey Price, Dasharn Anderson, Harki Bhambra, Demi Papaminas.

Doctor Who is a BBC Cymru Wales production for BBC One and will be back on-air this Autumn.