'Doctor Who' showrunner reveals who will play Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla

The upcoming season of "Doctor Who" will see science legends Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla, series showrunner Chris Chibnall has confirmed. Chibnall confirmed "Hustle" star Robert Glenister will play Edison and "ER" fame Goran Visnjic will star as Tesla.

Both David Bowie and Nicholas Hoult have played the electrical inventor Tesla on the big screen. "When the script came in we thought: 'There's sort of only one person who could play this.' And we sent it to him and within 48 hours he said yes.

"Tesla, I think, is absolutely one of those characters you think the Doctor would be fascinated by. People say he's the man who invented the 20th century. But of course, he wasn't given his due for it, really," Chibnall told RadioTimes.com. Set to appear in the same episode, the showrunner also talked about Glenister and called him as "one of the greatest actors" around.

"He's just great. I've worked with him, he was in 'The Great Train Robbery' drama that I wrote... He's just magnificent. He's so precise and he's so subtle, and he's such a brilliant actor," he added. The two-part series opener of the 12th season of "Doctor Who", titled "Spyfall", will premiere on January 1, 2020. It will mark the return of Jodie Whitaker as the titular Time Lord.

The story finds MI6 turning to the Doctor and his friends for help after intelligence agents around the world are under attack from alien forces. The episode will feature guest appearances by veteran British actors Stephen Fry and Lenny Henry.

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