Directed by Ben Wheatley, the eighth season of Doctor Who is headed by a powerful cast including Peter Capaldi as the 12th doctor and supporting actors and actresses Clara Oswald, Jenna Coleman, Samuel Anderson, Madame Vastra, Keeley Hawes, Robert Goodman and Matt Smith.

The Paternoster Gang will return in the next series, which will see the return of several familiar faces, friends and villains alike. Apart from the return of the Paternoster Gang, BBC announced last month that the first episode's principal guest star is Samuel Anderson. Ben Miller and Tom Riley will also have guest starring roles in the series.

Ben Miller stated that he was honored to have been chosen to do a guest role in the initial episode: "As a committed Whovian, I cannot believe my luck in joining the Twelfth Doctor for one of his inaugural adventures," he says, "My only worry is that they'll make me leave the set when I'm not filming." Miller is cast as the new villain in Doctor Who's Season 8.

Steven Moffat, head writer and executive producer of BBC One said that a terrifying villain had been created by Gatiss for the initial episode and they needed to find one who would be at par with Capaldi. That is how Ben Miller was chosen. Miller's last stint with BBC was in Death in Paradise, where he played the role of Richard Poole in the show's first two series.

Doctor Who's fans were eager to have a sneak peak of Capaldi playing the doctor. They turned out to be in luck as a daring fan was able to take a video of the third episode "Robots of Sherwood." It was taken from afar and is gritty but captured Capaldi as Doctor Who. His Doctor Who role is very far from the Matt Smith role, and fans will see a more dynamic and hostile doctor in Capaldi compared to the past Doctors.

Doctor Who Season 8 is rumored to have a July 2014 air date but BBC has not officially announced the premiere of Season 8's initial episode.