Doctor Who fans are set to be reunited with Kate Lethbirdge-Stewart in a new spin-off starring Jemma Redgrave, according to reports.
Ahead of the show's return later this year for the Doctor Who 60th-anniversary specials, it has been rumored that Doctor Who bosses are planning a new spin-off series created from the new production deal formed between the BBC and Disney Plus that was announced last year.
According to The Mirror, the new show is similar to previous sister show efforts like Torchwood. The untitled new series will center on UNIT, the military organization that the Doctor has frequently crossed paths with since their inception in the 1960s.
The biggest part of this announcement is that Jemma Redgrave — who has played UNIT's Chief Scientific Officer, Kate Stewart since 2012 — is set to star. Speaking to The Mirror, a source said: "Doctor Who has always featured strong women in positions of authority", suggesting Redgrave will be playing a central role.
Excitingly, this UNIT-centric might not be the only extra show on the way, as the Mirror went on to reveal that a spin-off based around the monsters from the Whoniverse is also planned.
UNIT has been a major part of Doctor Who since the organization was first introduced in the Second Doctor serial, "The Invasion" in 1968. Since then, the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (known as the Unified Intelligence Taskforce in the modern Who era) has helped to defend the Earth from all manner of alien threats throughout the show's history.
This news comes just a few months after the BBC confirmed that Kate Stewart (and UNIT) would be playing a role in the next full series which features the 15th Doctor, Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa. Gatwa will officially take over control of the TARDIS in an episode slated to air at some point over the festive period in 2023.
Doctor Who returns this November for the 60th-anniversary special miniseries with David Tennant starring as the 14th Doctor. If you need to get caught up, you can revisit past episodes on BBC iPlayer in the UK and on HBO Max in the US. New episodes will start premiering on Disney Plus outside of the UK later this year.
