The Doctor is returning to the TARDIS sooner than fans expected. Ncuti Gatwa’s second season of Doctor Who will debut on BBC and Disney+ on Saturday, April 12, 2025, at 12 AM PT/3 AM ET.

In addition to this announcement, the British sci-fi series also announced that Alan Cumming (The Good Wife, X-Men film franchise) will be a guest star in the new season. Cumming will voice Mr. Ring-a-Ding, who is described as a “happy, funny, singalong cartoon, who lives in Sunny Town with his friend Sunshine Sally. 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.”

This is Cumming’s second appearance on Doctor Who. In 2018, he played King James I opposite Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor in “The Witchfinders” episode. He is known for playing Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in the X-Men movie franchise and as Eli Gold in The Good Wife. Cumming was in GoldenEye, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Burlesque, and he currently hosts The Traitors reality show.

Doctor Who released a photo of Mr. Ring-a-Ding, a cartoon character who resembles early 20th century animated figures. The show also dropped two character posters for the new season featuring Gatwa and new companion Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu). Gatwa’s poster shows him looking over his shoulder while Sethu looks up at the stars.

Millie Gibson is returning as companion Ruby Sunday, as are Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Anita Dobson as Mrs. Flood. Guest stars will include Rose Ayling-Ellis, Christopher Chung, Michelle Greenidge, Jonah Hauer-King, Ruth Madeley, and Susan Twist.

Doctor Who will run an eight-episode season with new episodes arriving on Disney+ and BBC on a weekly basis.