Doctor Who Season 11 Poster

Alan Cumming has been cast in a guest role for the forthcoming eleventh season of Doctor Who. Progress is continuing apace on Jodie Whittaker's debut run as the iconic Time Lord meddler and filming is very much underway. With the core cast of the Doctor and her companions already in place, on-set photos have revealed that the Doctor's robotic partner, K-9, is likely to be returning to the show and one particular episode this season will seemingly explore the story of civil rights trailblazer, Rosa Parks.

Alan Cumming is an actor whose face will be familiar to many due to his extensive work on both the big and small screen, as well as the stage. The Olivier award winner has appeared in movies such as Goldeneye, Spy Kids and Emma, however will perhaps be most familiar as the man behind Nightcrawler (a.k.a. Kurt Wagner) in X2, a role that narrowly beats voicing the White Rabbit in Dora The Explorer for the title of Cumming's most famous character.

Related: Jodie Whittaker's Doctor Who Can Bring Back Great Villains

The Scottish-American actor will, however, be making his return to British television in the forthcoming season of Doctor Who. Speaking on the Homo Sapiens podcast, Cumming confirmed that he would be appearing in Who as King James I, a villain who eventually comes good. Interestingly, Cumming also claimed that there was a possibility his character could return in future episodes. The actor stated:

Alan Cumming as Kurt Wagner Nightcrawler in X-Men 2 X2

"I'm about to go and do an episode of Doctor Who. I'm so excited! I've never been in it... [The character is] a nice baddie. I'm like a sort of dandy, foppy character who becomes alright in the end. They said he might come back."

Of course, the filming of a new season of Doctor Who is always surrounded by secrecy but apparently this fact was lost on Cumming himself, who later confirmed he was not supposed to reveal his appearance in the show quite yet. Presumably in the wake of a strong word from the BBC, the actor posted a (sort of) apology video on his Twitter account.

So that’s good!
In which I discuss @bbcdoctorwho @realDonaldTrump @UniofOxford and #brexit pic.twitter.com/i2EtlP7C3d— Alan Cumming (@Alancumming) March 9, 2018

With this news, it looks more or less confirmed that Doctor Who season 11 will feature at least two historical episodes: a King James I adventure and the Rosa Parks installment. Most of Who's visits to the past tend to employ a more light-hearted tone and while this may not be entirely appropriate in the case of Parks, it certainly sounds like Cumming's episode will conform to the classic format along the lines of Peter Capaldi's Robin Hood romp, "Robot of Sherwood."

However, it is somewhat unusual for historic figures shown in Doctor Who to have recurring roles, at least in any significant sense. Ian McNeice's depiction of Winston Churchill managed a few cameos outside of his primary episode "Victory of the Daleks" but, other than that, figures from history rarely venture outside of their allotted story. As such, it'll be intriguing to see, not only if Cumming's King James I returns, but also in what capacity.

More: Missy Could Return To Face Jodie Whittaker In Doctor Who

Doctor Who season 11 premieres October 2018 on BBC.

Source: Homo Sapiens