Doctor Who: Varada Sethu confirmed as new companion

Varada Sethu will be joining Doctor Who, playing Ncuti Gatwa's companion in his second series as the Doctor.

The actress who recently appeared in the Disney+ Star Wars series Andor said it's an "honour" to appear in the show.

Ncuti Gatwa's first series as the Doctor will begin in May, with Coronation Street actress Millie Gibson playing companion Ruby Sunday.

The BBC says that Sethu will join the pair in the following series which will be broadcast in 2025.

As well as Andor, the actress has been seen in the 2018 crime drama Hard Sun, and Jurassic World Dominion.

Sethu said it was an "honour to be a part of the Whoniverse" and she felt "like the luckiest person in the world".

"I couldn't ask for a better team than Ncuti and Millie to be on this adventure with."

Companion speculation

Earlier this year there had been speculation that Sethu would be replacing Gibson in the long-running time travel drama.

Gatwa and Gibson were first seen together in the show's Christmas Special, The Church on Ruby Road, where viewers learnt that Sunday was adopted, with the identity of her birth parents a mystery.

No details have been given for Sethu's character, but the BBC has released pictures of her alongside Gatwa and Gibson at a table read for a forthcoming episode.

Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies said he "first worked with Varada on a BBC production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and it's a joy to welcome her on board the TARDIS.

"Right now in the studio, shooting for 2025, we've got Ncuti, Millie and Varada fighting side by side - we need all three, because the stakes are higher than ever!"

When the show returns on 11 May, for the first time it will premiere on BBC iPlayer at midnight, before being broadcast on BBC One later that day.