Doctor Who casts Line of Duty's Keeley Hawes in series 8

Keeley Hawes is to play a major role in the next series of Doctor Who.

Hawes - currently starring in BBC Two's hit drama Line of Duty - will play Ms Delphox on the BBC sci-fi drama.

Described as a "powerful out of this world character with a dark secret", Delphox will encounter the new Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and companion Clara (Jenna Coleman) when they arrive on a strange and puzzling planet.

"I am delighted to join Doctor Who and to be working with this incredible team," said Hawes, who will appear in the fifth episode of the new series, written by Steve Thompson.

"Ms Delphox is a great character and someone I've had a lot of fun playing."

Doctor Who's lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat added: "Anyone watching Jed Mercurio's amazing Line of Duty will know that Keeley Hawes is having one hell of a year. And now it's about to get even better as she achieves the greatest villainy yet attempted on Doctor Who - she plays a banker."

In addition to playing DI Lindsay Denton on Line of Duty, Hawes has also appeared in Spooks, Ashes to Ashes and Upstairs Downstairs.

Filming is currently under way on the new series of Doctor Who - Capaldi's first as the iconic Time Lord - with new episodes set to transmit in the autumn.

 To find out more about Keeley Hawes please click here

Source: Digital Spy