House of the Dragon star joins Doctor Who as horned villain

The next season of Doctor Who premieres next month. Ncuti Gatwa will return as the Doctor, who will face off against a range of extraterrestrial adversaries. One big guest star is Alan Cumming, who will play some kind of talking old-timey cartoon who walks off the movie screen and into my nightmares. Another is Freddie Fox, who House of the Dragon fans may recognize as Alicent Hightower's brother Gwayne.

Fox previously worked with Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies on the show Cucumber. Davies, who's one of the best hype men in the business, sung his praises. "He’s the most spectacular actor, and he comes to Doctor Who with fury, venom, cunning and a beautiful set of horns," Davies said, per Radio Times. "Doctor beware!”

It's true: Fox's character, whoever he is, has horns. And also a righteous mullet. My backstory is that he's Satan's Appalachian lovechild:

But in reality, we don't know what the deal is with Fox's rock-and-roll devil. Fox is psyched about it, though. "I had the most amazing time making this show and feel honoured to have been asked to be a part of Russell's crazy, bonkers, beautiful vision," he said. "Added to which, sharing space with the iconic Doctor that is Ncuti Gatwa was special beyond imagining. If audiences enjoy watching it half as much as I did making it, televisions are on course to explode right across the world!" I wonder if Davies has been coaching him in the art of hype.

The next season of Doctor Who — I keep saying "the next season" because I'm increasingly flummoxed as to whether this is season 2, 15, or 41; when you've been on the air this long, these kinds of questions come out — premieres on April 12 on Disney+ and the BBC. With ratings not where producers want them to be, this is a crucial season for the show that could determine the future of the partnership between the BBC and Disney, who worked together to bring these latest two seasons to life.

As for House of the Dragon, Fox will eventually return as Gwayne Hightower, but not until next year. The second season left him and Criston Cole about to march on the castle of Harrenhal, where Daemon Targaryen had raised an army. That's one of the many clashes expected to pay off early in House of the Dragon season 3.

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