Nigel Planer joins cast of Doctor Who Live at Wembley

Nigel Planer joins the cast of Doctor Who Live, a new stage show based upon the BBC's series Doctor Who, which will play at the Wembley Arena, a 12,000 capacity venue in north London from 8 to 10 Oct 2010, as part of a nine cities and 25 date UK tour.

Planer will play the part of Vorgenson, a character exclusively adapted for the tour by the television programme's Executive Producer and Lead Writer Steven Moffat. The new character is described as an 'inter-galactic showman' who is the Doctor's biggest fan.

Nigel Planer comments: "I'm incredibly excited to be joining Doctor Who Live and this role is something of a boyhood dream come true. My character Vorgenson, who has been developed specially for the show by Steven Moffat, is the Greatest Showman in the Galaxy and using his incredible invention, 'The Minimiser', he can make any Doctor Who character appear on stage as part of his traveling show dedicated to his hero. This live tour brings all the magic of the TV show together with a host of incredible effects. I hope that I can survive visiting nine cities in October sharing a stage with eleven Doctor Who Monsters and a flying Dalek in tow!"

The stage show will follow Vorgenson on an inter-galactic journey as he summons monsters in his Minimiser for the audience to see. Matt Smith will appear as the Doctor in specially 'filmed' sequences to be shown on a giant screen on stage. (NOTE: Matt Smith does not appear live)

In a further announcement, the producers have revealed that Nick Briggs , famous for voicing the Daleks and Cybermen, is onboard to replicate his voice talents live on stage every night. Briggs will also portray Winston Churchill, who is summoned by Vorgenson through his Minimiser.

Doctor Who Live will also feature a spectacular array of stunts and illusions, including a flying Dalek, all designed by Britain's illusionists, The Twins, who have come to prominence in the last few years by designing the illusion of flying without wires, and they have a reputation for large scale stunts including making an elephant disappear live on stage.

Opening in wartime London and concluding in an epic onstage battle, audiences should expect the unexpected as the The Doctor's arch-enemies the Daleks are joined by some of the best-loved and most terrifying monsters from the TV series including the Cybermen, Weeping Angels, Judoon and Oods to name but a few.

The show features a special FX, optical illusions and spectacular pyrotechnics building to an epic finale. Specially edited video clips, drawn from the TV Programme will be shown on a massive screen and accompanied by the music of Murray Gold. These iconic scores will be brought to life by a 16 piece orchestra live on stage.

Please note that actors from the TV series will not be appearing live on stage.

Following the London run the show tours to...
Sheffield Arena (12th and - 13 Oct)
Glasgow SECC (14 - 17 Oct)
Birmingham NIA (18 - 20 Oct)
Manchester Evening News Arena (22 - 24 Oct)
Nottingham Trent FM Arena (25- 26 Oct)
Cardiff International Arena (28 - 31 Oct)
Liverpool Echo Arena (2 - 3 Nov)
Belfast Odyssey Arena (6 - 7 Nov)