The BBC today revealed the cast of Class, the latest Doctor Who spinoff coming later this year. Filming began today and further casting has not yet been announced.The show, set in contemporary London and geared toward young adults, expands on the Coal Hill School environment introduced in the venerable series’ first 1963 episode and developed further during the recent tenures of Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi as the Doctor. According to an updated show description in BBC America’s announcement, the school’s ties to the time-traveling Doctor have consequences: “All the time-traveling over the years has caused the very walls of space and time to become thin. There’s something pressing in on the other side, something waiting for its chance to kill everyone and everything, to bring us all into Shadow.”
If, as I have, you’ve been sucked into the world of Mr. Selfridge on Masterpiece, you’ll recognize at least two of the faces: Katherine Kelly, playing a “teacher and powerful new presence at Coal Hill School,” played Lady Mae Loxley in the ITV-generated series, and Greg Austin played Gordon Selfridge, the scion of fictionalized philandering department store phenomenon Harry Selfridge. He will be joined by Fady Elsayed, Sophie Hopkins and Vivian Oparah as fellow Coal Hill students.
