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When Doctor Who returns to our screens this Spring, the traveling Time Lord won’t be coming alone. In addition to a brand new companion, Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor will be accompanied by a very familiar Traitor with the news that Alan Cumming will be guest-starring in the second episode of the new season as a cinematic threat from beyond reality. (You know, as one might expect.)

The show’s new season — its second since Disney+ picked up distribution rights for the entire world outside of the UK, where the show remains with its original network, the BBC — will debut April 12 with Gatwa and Millie Gibson returning as the Doctor and Ruby Sunday, respectively; they’ll be joined by Varada Sethu, who’ll play new companion Belinda Chandra, who it appears will power this season’s major story arc. As the official synopsis for the season explains, “The Doctor meets Belinda Chandra and begins an epic quest to get her back to Earth. But a mysterious force is stopping their return and the time-traveling TARDIS team must face great dangers, bigger enemies and wider terrors than ever before.”

One of those “bigger enemies” will be Mr. Ring-a-Ding, a “happy, funny, singalong cartoon who lives in Sunny Town with his friend Sunshine Sally,” as per the BBC — but don’t be fooled by that upbeat description. “However, in 1952, after years of repeats in cinemas across the land, Mr Ring-a-Ding suddenly looks beyond the screen and sees the real world outside — and the consequences are terrifying,” the synopsis of the season’s second episode continues. Alan Cumming will be voicing the character, with showrunner Russell T. Davies saying, “Only Alan Cumming could give a runaway cartoon so much wit, malice, danger and fun.” (Clearly someone is a fan of The Traitors.)

To accompany the news that the show will return April 12, Disney and the BBC released new key art from the season, including a look at Mr. Ring-a-Ding, as well as a sneaky look at what Ruby seems to have been up to since leaving the Doctor at the end of the last season… she’s working with UNIT, it seems… Click through the gallery below to see more.

Doctor Who returns to Disney+ and BBC One April 12, 2025.

If you want to start watching Doctor Who and don't know where to start, check out our handy Doctor Who watch guide. Or maybe you're already finished with the show - We've got the perfect Ten shows to watch when you're done watching Doctor Who guide for you too. If you're already heads over heels for the Fifteenth Doctor and want to learn more about the actor playing him, check out what he's been in before here. Or maybe you just need to figure out how the new series numbering is going to work (Are there really gonna be two series 1s? Yes.) - if so, this is the explainer you want.