Steven Moffat has revealed the extent of Nardole’s involvement in Series 10 of Doctor Who.

Moffat states that Matt Lucas’ role has been extended greatly from an initial few episodes: “He was contracted for certain episodes [of the 2017 series], and he’s crept into far more of them. I think he’s going to end up being in all of them, in fact, because we love him.”

“In the first episodes of next year’s series, he’s slightly broader,” Steven elaborates, “but we more clearly establish in this Christmas one that he’s sly, and clever, and daft – but he’s not just rent-a-duffer, as he was in The Husbands of River Song, where he was a relatively small character, killed off early on, who happened to be played by Matt Lucas. This is a chance to slightly reconfigure him. He’s a wee bit cheeky to the Doctor, but he’s genuinely helpful and good at things.”

Matt Lucas adds: “Nardole is the first non-human companion in quite a long time… he knows things even the Doctor wouldn’t know!”