Doctor returns for series four

Updated 08.38 Wed Apr 02 2008

Keywords: dalek, timelord, agyeman, freema, fi, bbc, tate, sci, who, catherine, doctor, tennant, david

Catherine Tate and David Tennant are counting down to the return of the fourth series of Doctor Who.

Speaking at the London launch, Tate, who reprises her role as Donna, joked about her character not fancying the Time Lord. In the new series, the pair encounter novelist Agatha Christie, meet The Ood and take a trip to Pompeii.

Billie Piper, 25, returns as the Time Lord's sidekick Rose Tyler, while guests stars also include Felicity Kendal and Peter Capaldi

She said: "Donna knows he's an alien. She knows he's got two hearts and she doesn't want to see what else he's doubled up on."

But Tennant, who plays the time-travelling Doctor, said he did not mind not having a romantic connection with his latest on-screen companion.

He said: "It's sort of the next thing to do. We've had a love story, we've had an unrequited love story, why not have this ... they do love each other just platonically."

Billie Piper, 25, returns as the Time Lord's sidekick Rose Tyler, while guests stars also include Felicity Kendal and Peter Capaldi.

Ex-Coronation Street actress Sarah Lancashire will make her debut in the first episode, starring as the villanious businesswoman Miss Foster.

Lancashire, 43, said: "I'm absolutely thrilled to be in Doctor Who. It's a brilliant episode and I'm looking forward to taking the Time Lord on."