The BBC will be turning back time for its bumper Shakespeare bash this April, reuniting former Doctor Who stars David Tennant and Catherine Tate.


The pair, last seen together on the BBC as the Tenth Doctor and companion Donna, are set to co-host Shakespeare Live!, a theatrical event from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre marking the 400th anniversary of the playwright’s death, and showing on BBC2 on 23rd April.

Excited to announce that Catherine Tate will join David Tennant as co-host of #RSCLive! 23 April. #ShakespeareLives pic.twitter.com/pvd7r0SgLR — BBC Two (@BBCTwo) April 13, 2016

Tate and Tennant will appear on stage with a number of other actors and musicians for the event, including Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch, Helen Mirren, Dame Judi Dench and Joseph Fiennes, who played Shakespeare himself in the film Shakespeare in Love.

The performance at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon will be given in front of an invited audience, which will include The Prince of Wales who is President of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and The Duchess of Cornwall, as well as RSC supporters, schools and the general public lucky enough to win tickets through a special ballot. The event will be broadcast on BBC2 that evening at 8:30pm.

Tennant described the programme as “a variety bill, really” at the event launch, adding that as well as readings there will feature “other cultural arms he inspired: opera, ballet, hip hop.”

Other recently confirmed names include Gregory Porter, Rory Kinnear, Rufus Hound, Henry Goodman, The Shires, David Suchet, Simon Russell Beale, Roger Allam, Antony Sher, Harriet Walter, John Lithgow, Alexandra Gilbreath, Tim Minchin and Anne Marie Duff.

The festival will also feature a performance from Noma Dumezweni, who is set to play Hermione in the upcoming Harry Potter and the Cursed Child plays.


Tate and Tennant reunited recently as the Doctor and Donna for a series of Doctor Who audio adventures, set to be released this May.