A former Coronation Street star will join the cast of the next season of Doctor Who.
Charlie Condou, 51, who played Marcus Dent in the ITV soap, will star in the upcoming season as a character called Gary, according to The sun.
Episodes airing next year will see Charlie, who also starred in the medical series Holby City, make his debut.
The soap star follows in the footsteps of his former co-stars Bruno Langley, Sarah Lancashire and Millie Gibson, who plays the Time Lord’s current sidekick Ruby Sunday.
In February 2020, Charlie announced that he quit the ITV show in 2014 to spend more time with his family in North London.
A former Coronation Street star is set to join the cast of the next series of Doctor Who. Charlie Condou, 51, who played Marcus Dent in the ITV soap, will play the lead role of a character called Gary
Episodes airing next year will see Charlie, who also appeared in medical drama Holby City, make his debut
Charlie played Marcus in the soap opera set in Manchester from 2007-2008 and 2011-2014.
His character had several dramatic storylines, including on-screen romances with Sean Tully (Antony Cotton), Maria Connor (Samia Longchambon) and Todd Grimshaw (Bruno Langley).
Speaking to Lorraine Kelly at the time, he said: ‘My time on Corrie was fantastic, but being in Manchester was really hard. My family and children are here and I couldn’t see them, so I left.’
Charlie raises his two children, Georgia, 14, and Hal, 11, with his husband Cameron Laux, whom he married in 2015.
The cast announcement comes just weeks after Doctor Who producer Russell T Davies said that “no decision has yet been made” about the season three line-up.
During the Comic Con in San Diego, together with Ncuti Gatwa (31) and Millie Gibson, the screenwriter spoke about what the science fiction series had to offer.
Russell, 62, admitted that no decision has been made yet on who will star in the third season, as they are still in the middle of filming the second season.
The screenwriter said, “We’ve shot season two, but it’s only halfway through. We’ve got months of shooting left. It’s a long way off, so there’s no decisions yet.”
In February 2020, Charlie announced that he left the ITV show in 2014 to spend more time with his family in North London
Charlie played Marcus in the soap opera set in Manchester from 2007-2008 and 2011-2014
This comes after Doctor Who producer Russell T Davies said that ‘no decision has been made’ about the season three line-up
Speaking at San Diego Comic Con alongside Ncuti Gatwa, 31, and Millie Gibson, the screenwriter discussed what the sci-fi show had in store
Ncuti said playing the Doctor is “surreal” and when the presenter joked that he had signed up for the next 10 seasons, he replied: “Of course!”.
“I’m still working on the Doctor, but season two was lovely. It felt like the suit really fitted. I found my feet in season one and had the time of my life, but season two felt like a chance to really show off the muscles,” he said, according to The Mirror.
In addition to filming the second season, Ncuti will star in a West End production of The Importance of Being Earnest later this year.
Meanwhile, Millie, 20, who plays Ruby Sunday, will reportedly only make a fleeting appearance in the next series, despite joining Ncuti and Russell at Comic Con.
She is replaced by Varada Sethu, 32, who is seen in the film footage with Ncuti.
Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies previously confirmed that Millie’s character had been put on the back burner for the time being, but that she would return to the series soon.
He explained: ‘This is a pause. I really felt that Ruby’s story ended there. She couldn’t get all that information about her family, all that emotional overload, and run away in the TARDIS. It ends there. She comes back.’
In the meantime, Millie is busy with other projects, as she plays the lead role in the new version of The Forsyte Saga.
This happened after the future of the series was questioned, despite the fact that filming for the fifteenth season had already started. The fourteenth season did not attract viewers and resulted in ‘disappointing’ ratings.
An ambitious deal with Disney, rumoured to be worth $100 million, will see each episode air on BBC iPlayer at midnight on Friday to please US viewers, before airing on the traditional Saturday afternoon.
The actor, 31, who appeared at San Diego Comic Con on Thursday alongside producer Russell T Davies and Millie Gibson, kept quiet about whether he would continue in the role
Meanwhile, Millie, 20, who plays Ruby Sunday, will reportedly only make a passing appearance in the next series. She will be replaced by Varada Sethu, 32
It marked an overall decline in audience numbers, despite the BBC having a contract with the US media giant that was intended to revitalise the show with lavish special effects. Davies, 61, said the deal would finally put the show ‘on the same level as your Star Wars and Marvel stuff’.
However, the final episode only drew 2.02 million viewers, a significant drop from Jodie Whittaker’s final outing as the first female Doctor, which was watched by 3.7 million people in real time.
A BBC spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘Overnight viewing figures no longer provide an accurate picture of the audience of drama series in an on-demand world. This season of Doctor Who premiered on iPlayer almost 24 hours before transmission and episode one has already been watched by more than 6 million viewers and that number continues to grow.’
‘Doctor Who remains one of the most watched shows on iPlayer and is the BBC’s most popular drama programme for under-35s this year, making it one of the most popular programmes for this demographic, regardless of streamers and broadcasters.’